Neymar’s injury crisis at Al-Hilal seems not to be coming to an end soon with the footballer ruled out again with a cramp.
In what could likely be a final death blow to his soccer career, the footballer was hit once again and was forced to withdraw from Al-Hilal’s AFC Champions League match on Monday, November 4, 2024.
The Saudi champions took on Esteghal in a seething AFC Champion League clash. Neymar was benched in the game but was subbed on two minutes before the hour mark.
29 minutes later, he pulled up with a leg issue, plunged to the turf and signaled for medical assistance.
After being attended to, it was evident he couldn’t continue with the match and had to be subbed off.
The 32-year-old had only returned from a year-long ACL blow last month after requiring surgery on his left knee.
But after just his second appearance back, the £130million-per-year superstar complained of cramp, though he sought to play down the worry.
”I felt like a cramp but very strong! I will do exams and hope it’s nothing more,’ he said on Instagram.
“It’s normal for this to happen after one year. The doctors warned me. This is why I need to be careful and have more minutes to play.”
Neymar’s injury: impact on his career
Neymar’s injury is not just a blow to Al-Hilal, who had seen less of the footballer since his £78m move from PSG in 2023, but also a worrying reoccurrence that his likely to impact his career.
He has been left out of Brazil’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against venezuela and Uruguay, with international boss Dorival Junior not wanting to overburden him.
According to Dorivial Junior, he is more than eager to have Neymar return to the team but the player needs to get to his best possible condition.
He added that since the footballer could only manage a few minutes of footballing action since his return from injury it was was best to keep him out yet.
”We decided not to bring him so as not to rush things. He’s practically fully recovered, but he only had a few minutes, which weighed heavily on the decision,” Dorivial Junior said.
‘He was willing to be here but he also understood the situation, the condition he is in, the lack of minutes on the field. We have to respect the club’s process.
”A player of his level always has the pleasure of being here. This is very important to us, even though he is not in full condition.”
Neymar’s Al-Hilal stats
Neymar joined Public Investment Fund (PIF) owned Al-Hilal in 2023 to bring an end to his Paris Saint-Germain nightmare in a £78million move that came as something of a shock.
He is thought to be on around £130m per year – or just short of £250 per minute – but has so far only managed to appear in just six matches.
Despite his struggle with injury, Neymar is still a hot commodity in the transfer market. He has been strongly linked with a move to Inter Miami in the MLS.
The Herons are reportedly hopeful of securing the services of the Brazilian to add him star-studded side. The move could Neymar reunite with his former Barcelona teammates – Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba
Meanwhile, things are going swimmingly for Al-Hilal this season, at least. They sit top of the Saudi Pro League after nine games, already six points ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s third-placed Al-Nassr
Former Premier League agitator-in-chief Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a hat-trick as the team secured a 3-0 win over Esteghlal, seeing them go top of their 12-team AFC Champions League group.
Neymar will hope to recover from his latest injury blow and return to football action soon. The club are expecting further update on the injury at the time of filing this report.
