Brazil and Al-Hilal forward Neymar will have surgery after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee while on international duty.

The 31-year-old was taken off on a stretcher in tears during the 2-0 defeat by Uruguay on Tuesday.

He landed awkwardly after a challenge in the first half of the 2026 World Cup qualifier in Montevideo.

It is unclear how long Neymar will be out for.

"Brazilian and world football need Neymar healthy and recovered, because football is happier when he's on the pitch," Brazilian Football Confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement.

Brazil's all-time male top scorer, who moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer from Paris St-Germain, has struggled with injuries in recent years.

He was sidelined for multiple months of his last two seasons with PSG because of different ankle injuries and he also missed two World Cup games in Qatar last year after he was injured in Brazil's opener against Serbia.

At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the then 22-year-old broke a bone in his back following a bad challenge by Juan Zuniga in the quarter-final against Colombia.

Brazil won that match but Neymar was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament, with his country going on to lose 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals.

Source: BBC 

BDST: 1003 HRS, OCT 19, 2023
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