SAUDI ARABIA
Neymar takes a giant step on his journey to full activity
The Brazilian star returned to training with his Al Hilal teammates almost a year after his anterior cruciate ligament injury forced him to undergo surgery.
Neymar is edging towards his return to participating in competitive games with his Al Hilal side with the Brazilian absent since October 2023 after he sustained a knee injury that forced him to undergo surgery.
Despite no definitive date for a return to full first team activity, the striker returned to training with his Al Hilal teammates this Sunday and was anxious to share this step with his legion of fans on social media.
The Brazilian star posted several photos from the training session with the Saudi team with the message: “I’m back! Happy to be back with the group. Now it’s all joy”.
Despite this positive step, the striker is not expected to be back in the blue Al Hilal shirt until January 2025 as confirmed by coach Jorge Jesus. “Neymar is an important player for us and for the Saudi league in general. However, I cannot specify a return date for him. We will re-evaluate the situation in January,” explained the Al Hilal coach.
The main reason Neymar will not play in 2024 is that he is not currently registered in the Saudi Professional League, and Al Hilal will not be able to register the former PSG man until January 2025. By then, the Brazilian will have fully recovered from the injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that he suffered on October 17, 2023 in a South American Qualifier against Uruguay.