Brazilian football star Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, more commonly known as Neymar, has suffered a knee injury, later revealed to be ACL, which could cause him to miss at least the rest of the season.
It was later revealed that the football star is set to undergo surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus while on international duty with Brazil. Neymar went down during the first half of his country's 2-0 defeat against Uruguay after challenging Nicolas de la Cruz for the ball.
Neymar's Knee Injury
The Brazilian star was later taken off on a stretcher as his side lost at Montevideo mainly due to goals either side of half-time from Darwin Nunez and de la Cruz. In a statement on social media, Al-Hilal posted that medical examinations were conducted on its player following the knee injury.
The statement added that Neymar will undergo surgery and a treatment program that will be determined later for the duration after his operation. The Brazilian star's knee injury is expected to force him to miss out on Al-Hilal's anticipated match against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr later this December, as per Mirror.
Following Brazil's World Cup qualifying defeat against Uruguay, captain Casemiro said they hoped that Neymar's knee injury was not too serious. He said that the football star is an important player for them and noted that he often suffered injuries throughout his career.
The development comes as the Brazilian star will also be in a race against time to be considered fit for next summer's Copa America. The tournament will be held in the United States starting from June 20 until July 14.
Neymar has one goal and three assists in five games so far for his team since he moved to Saudi Arabia from Paris Saint-Germain in August in a $93 million deal. Currently, Al-Hilal is at the top of the Saudi Pro League and got seven wins and two draws from their nine matches thus far.
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Brazilian Star's Torn ACL
Neymar could be seen in tears while he was being stretchered off the pitch after a challenge in first-half stoppage time. According to Sporting News, this situation led many viewers to believe that he could be forced to push through yet another long recovery process.
The football star's knee injury was caused by Neymar taking an awkward step with his left leg and his knee appeared to have buckled as he shifted his weight to that side for just a moment. Richarlison replaced him for the remainder of the match.
Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said that the first 24 hours were important for them to see how Neymar's knee would respond and how the swelling would be. He added that imaging tests will define a definitive diagnosis of the injury.
Neymar confirmed the worst-case scenario on his social media accounts, revealed during medical tests on his left leg. Marca said this is the Brazilian star's first knee injury throughout his career playing for various teams.
