Neymar injury update: Brazil star ready for Al Hilal return

Nearly a year to the day since suffering a serious knee injury while on international duty, Neymar looks set to make his long-awaited return for Al-Hilal.

On October 17, 2023 Neymar suffered a serious injury with Brazil, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee. He left the field in tears, carted away on a stretcher, and underwent surgery soon afterwards.

He initially returned to Al Hilal training over the summer but suffered a brief setback in September. Now, ESPN Brazil reports that he is approaching a return to the team. In fact, the Asian Champions League game against Al Ain on October 21 has been slated as a possible comeback date.

Will Neymar return to the Brazil national team?

Neymar’s operation was carried out by Rodrigo Lasmar, team doctor for the Brazilian national team. Lasmar will likely fly out to Saudi Arabia this week to evaluate the recovery and outline the next steps.

If this is successful Neymar will likely be back for Al Hilal this month and could be back in contention for the national team very soon. Speaking to reporters in August, Brazil head coach Dorival Junior insisted that Neymar remains in his plans.

“He’s an incredibly important, fundamental, and decisive player, someone who’s different. We all know that,” Dorival explained.

“Rest assured, when he’s recovered and ready, he’ll be called up again,” he continued. “He’s a player that needs no introduction; everyone knows how important he is. But it’s still early, so we’ll wait.”

After shaky start to World Cup qualifying, Brazil eased the pressure on Dorival Junior with victrory over Chile last week. They take on Peru on Tuesday and will be back in action again next month, with games against Venezuela (November 14) and Uruguay (November 19) on the schedule. Neymar may not have long to wait before his international return.