Neymar leaves pitch in tears after suffering latest injury setback

Neymar saw his first start back in the Brazilian Serie A end in more injury heartbreak

Neymar suffered his latest of a catalogue of injury woes as his highly-anticipated first start back in Brazil’s top-flight ended with an early withdrawal.

The winger, sporting a special number 100 jersey to honour his 100th appearance at Santos’s home Vila Belmiro, was forced off inside just 34 minutes due into the clash with Atletico Minero due to an injury in his left thigh.

This is a recurring issue for Neymar, 33, who sustained an injury in the same area during a Campeonato Paulista fixture that left him sidelined for six weeks.

Having only returned to action on Sunday as a substitute against Fluminense, this acts as a major blow to the former Barcelona and PSG superstar, who has been plagued by fitness woes for the last few years.

This was no more prevalent than during his disastrous stint in Saudi Arabia, with an ACL tear early into his £77.6 million move to Al-Hilal limiting the Brazilian legend to only managed 428 minutes of action across 18 months.

Neymar was visibly distraught as he signalled to the bench shortly after Santos extended their lead with a second goal, gesturing towards the bench and reluctantly requesting to be substituted.

He was carted off the pitch while being consoled by both his teammates and opposition players, including former Brazil teammate Hulk.

"It's still too early to give any definitive answer, we don't have a diagnosis yet," Santos coach Cesar Sampaio said post-match. "It's a major loss in a match where everything we had planned was unfolding as expected.

"And that’s it, now we really have to pray that it’s not something that will keep him out for a long time."

Neymar rejoined Santos after nearly 12 years away back in January, drawing an end to his ill-fated spell in Saudi Arabia following the mutual decision to terminate his contract.

He has not featured for Brazil since October 2023 but was named in the national squad for the March international break, only to be ruled out of action once again by the initial problem in his left thigh.