Neymar (33) continues to be plagued by injuries at FC Santos. The Brazilian now faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
In the Brazilian league match against Atletico Mineiro, FC Santos was leading 2-0 in the middle of the first half when Neymar sank to the ground in tears, clutching his thigh. Shortly afterwards, he had to be driven off the pitch. Neymar watched the rest of the match from the substitutes’ bench. The score remained 2-0 for Santos – their first win of the season on the fourth matchday.
Neymar had only returned to his home club at the end of January, but had only played one full game since then. His thigh had already given way at the beginning of March, and he had to take a break for around a month. Last week, he made his comeback as a substitute in the 0-1 defeat to Fluminense, but his attempt to start the game ended in disappointment – in his 100th home game for Santos, of all places. Neymar wore the number 100 jersey instead of his usual number 10 to mark the anniversary.
This is the latest failed comeback attempt by Neymar since he suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Al-Hilal in October 2023, which forced him to take a year-long break. Last fall, while still in Saudi Arabia, he felt a twinge in his thigh during his second brief appearance, then again in Brazil after only seven games. And now it’s happened again.
Apparently, the muscle injury that caused the last two breaks has flared up again. However, an exact diagnosis is still pending. “We have to pray now that he won’t be out for too long,” said Cesar Sampaio, currently interim coach at Santos. Sampaio took over the club on an interim basis after Pedro Caixinha was sacked on Monday following a poor start to the season.
