The Brazilian Neymar Júnior exercised this Saturday with his Canarinha teammates for the first time since he suffered the right ankle injury that has knocked him out since the match against Serbia.
Neymar touched the ball for the first time since the match against Serbia in a training session behind closed doors at the Grand Hamad Stadium, where the Brazilian team exercises during the World Cup.
The attacker worked with the group in what is a definitive test to find out if he has recovered from the ligament injury of the right ankle that he suffered due to the continuous attacks of the Serbian players and that have forced him to miss the duels against Switzerland and Cameroon.
The question is whether Neymar will be ready for the quarterfinal match against South Korea on Monday. The ’10’ has spent these days in the concentration hotel, with recovery exercises in the pool and without forcing.
South Korea reaches the round of 16 after qualifying on the last date after defeating Portugal 2-1 and thus securing second place in Group H ahead of Ghana and Uruguay.
Without Neymar, Brazil beat Switzerland (1-0) and lost to Cameroon (0-1), leaving just one goal along the way and an incipient concern about the heaviness of the ‘Canarinha’ attack, which has also lost substitute striker Gabriel Jesús and Alex Telles through injury. Their absences are already confirmed for the remainder of the World Cup.
If he does not recover in time, Tite could opt for Rodrygo in the ’10’ position, as against Cameroon. “Ney has given me a lot of confidence because he is a genius in this position. Playing there is very difficult, you have few spaces, you have to be very fast, but I like to play there”, said the Real Madrid footballer after the defeat against the African team.
Another option is the one he used against Switzerland, with a double pivot with Casemiro and Fred, and Lucas Paquetá ahead.
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