After more than a year of absence due to a very serious injury suffered on the national team, Neymar he set foot on a football pitch again two weeks ago, in the Asian Champions League match between Al Hilal and Al Ain. Yesterday he played his second match of the season (he will only be able to play in the league from January) but came off in the 86th minute, after just thirty minutes, due to a thigh problem.
His grimace of pain and his reaction to returning to the bench had caused concern but the former PSG and Barcelona player reassured everyone: “I felt a cramp but the pain was very strong”, he said at the end of the match. “I’ll do some tests, I hope it’s nothing serious. It’s normal for it to happen after a year, the doctors had already warned me. I have to be careful.”
Jorge Jesus, coach of Al Hilal, specified: “Recovering from an injury like this is not easy. He plays in a position that makes him very vulnerable to contact. I believe his injury is muscular, not knee. He should be out for at least two weeks.”