Neymar has been afflicted by injury once again as he was forced to withdraw from a match on Monday night – just 29 minutes after coming on.
The Brazilian star was brought on after 58 minutes in Al-Hilal’s Asian Champions League win over Esteghlal but came off in the 87th after pulling up with a leg issue.
Neymar, 32, 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.
Neymar has suffered another injury blow after seemingly pulling up with cramp on Monday
The Al-Hilal and Brazil star had to come off in just his second game back from his ACL injury
Neymar looked glum on the bench after being limited to 29 minutes of Asian Champions League action – while team-mate Aleksandar Mitrovic ran riot and scored a hat-trick
‘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.’
He later posted: ‘Great team game, very happy to be back playing at home… and thank you for the affection of the fans!
‘Now it’s time to recover. We’re still firm and strong.’
Four important words in all this are ‘the doctors warned me’ – this was not totally unexpected for Neymar, who has been easing himself back.
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.
‘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,’ he 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 suffered a horrific ACL injury last year which saw him needing surgery on his left knee and left him sidelined for a year
He has reassured fans on social media that he still feels ‘firm and strong’ despite his setback
Football megastar 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 six matches.
Things are otherwise 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 in Monday’s 3-0 win over Esteghlal, seeing them go top of their 12-team Asian Champions League group.
