Neymar was devastated after going over on his ankle vs Serbia, it's worryingly swollen
In the aftermath of Brazil's impressive 2-0 win against Serbia on Thursday night, a distraught Neymar left the Lusail Stadium with a nasty swollen ankle.
The 30-year-old forward, who was fouled nine times during Thursday's Group G game – the most of any player at the World Cup so far – was forced off with 79 minutes played after his ankle buckled under the weight of Nikola Milenkovic's challenge.
He attempted to play on following the collision but 12 minutes later, he was replaced by Rodrygo.
The Paris Saint-Germain man, visibly emotional from the incident, was soon pictured with his head in his hands as Brazil went on to defend their 2-0 lead following a brace from Richarlison. In fact, there are suggestions Neymar was in tears on the touchline.
A sensação do Neymar é malíssima
— Marcelo Bechler (@marcelobechler) November 24, 2022
pic.twitter.com/l4K7Pf8WZQ
That doesn't look good, does it? After the full-time whistle, Neymar hobbled to the dressing room as images soon emerged of his swollen ankle.
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It is believed Brazil will find out the extent of his injury within the next 48 hours.
Neymar certainly has recent history when it comes to suffering ankle injuries. He missed two months of action last season after going over on his ankle during PSG's win over St Etienne in November and the season before that, he was out for a month with ankle issues.
Away from Neymar's injury and Tite's side deservedly walked away with all three points after some individual brilliance from Richarlison.
The Spurs striker broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute before notching what will inevitably go down as one of the best goals of this winter's World Cup.
Vinicius produced a lovely outside of the boot pass from the left and Richarlison pulled it down before delivering a wonderful acrobatic effort that flew past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
It has been an eventful week for the former Everton man, who recently joked that he wants to copy Ronaldinho in the future.
After being asked what he wants to when he retires, Richarlison replied: "I am going to buy an island and I will stay there with a lot of women, like that photo of Ronaldinho."
RICHARLISON 👏
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 24, 2022
It had been coming...#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup
Thoughts on Neymar's injury? Can Brazil lift the World Cup without the influential forward?
Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Neymar, Brazil, Football World Cup, Serbia, Paris Saint-Germain
Jack Kenmare