Neymar out of World Cup 2014: 'I can't feel my legs,' what the startled Brazil striker told team-mate Marcelo moments after Juan Zuniga challenge

The Brazilian feared for his career after the challenge

Neymar feels the pain of the challenge that put him out of the World Cup (EPA)

Neymar feared he was paralysed moments after the challenge from Colombia's Juan Zuniga that ruled him out of the World Cup with a broken back, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has revealed.

The poster boy of the tournament was carried off on a stretcher and immediately taken to hospital before the Brazil team doctor confirmed that he had fractured one of his vertbrae.

The Barcelona forward will be out for four to six weeks, but Scolari said that the forward initially feared for his career in his state of shock after the challenge, in which Zuniga kneed the 22-year-old in the back. A foul was not given as Brazil played advantage.

"He said: 'I can’t feel my legs'," Scolari told Marca, revealing the details of the on-pitch conversation between Neymar and team-mate Marcelo after the incident.

"Marcelo was scared and called the doctor on but the doctor couldn’t get on in the confusion. It was a big shock, the image of Neymar being stretchered off to the helicopter, in difficulty, crying."

Scolari added: "Neymar is our star player, because he's the type of match-winner who would make a difference in any team. We've lost the one player we didn't want to lose ahead of the semi-finals and the final."

Brazil take on Germany in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.