Neymar, injured, spotted dancing at Carnaval in Brazil

Brazilian striker Neymar, who is currently recovering from an injury to his right foot, was given permission by his club, PSG, to travel to his homeland as part of his rehabilitation process, and the player took advantage of being in Brazil to travel to the Carnaval celebrations in the city of Salvador on Friday evening. There he was spotted dancing and kissing Rafaela Porto, a singer on the Brazilian edition of The Voice, who was at Neymar’s birthday party in February in Paris. The images of Neymar at the Carnaval celebrations quickly went viral.

Neymar partying in Brazil

The Carnaval celebrations in Salvador, a city in the northeast of the country, are as popular as those of Rio de Janeiro. Neymar attended along with his long time friend Gabriel Medina, twice world surf champion, just three days after posting on social media that he was able to ditch the crutches he’s been using since injuring his right foot against Strasbourg at the end of January in the French Cup. In the videos of the player at Carnaval he can be seen pulling off complex dance moves on the gallery from which the attendees can watch the passing procession.

Having been given permission by PSG to travel to Brazil to continue with his recover, Neymar headed to his house on the beach in Mangaratiba, on the coast south of Rio de Janeiro, and stayed there until heading to Carnaval in Salvador. The player is expected to return to Paris next Wednesday, where he’ll be in the crowd at the PSG - Manchester United game in the Champions League.

Neymar was caught on video kissing singer Rafaela Porto, who he has been seen with several times in the past few weeks since she attended his birthday party in Paris. The 19 year old lives in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, located 1,000 km north of Salvador.

By chance, the model and actress Bruna Marquezine, the best known of Neymar’s former girlfriends, was also at Carnaval in Salvador, but it seems they didn’t bump into each other.