Neymar gives four-word response to his first Brazil call-up in almost 18 months after injury hell
Neymar posted a message to his fans on Instagram on Thursday after receiving a recall to the Brazilian national team for the first time in almost 18 months.
The 33-year-old has not represented his country since suffering a serious knee injury in their match against Uruguay in October 2023.
The devastating blow came just weeks after his lucrative move to Saudi Arabia and he went on to play just seven times for Al-Hilal after further injury setbacks.
But he returned to his boyhood club Santos in January, and has registered six goal involvements in seven outings, leading to him being picked in Brazil’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.
Neymar watched the squad announcement live, and shared a photo of himself listening to national team boss Dorival Junior’s press conference on Instagram.
Alongside the photo, Neymar wrote: ‘Glad to be back!’
Neymar told fans he was ‘glad to be back’ as he was recalled to the Brazilian national team for the first time in almost 18 months
Neymar suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Brazil against Uruguay in October 2023
He was stretchered off in agony, but now seems to have put his injury hell behind him
The 128-cap international has been Brazil’s talisman since his debut as an 18-year-old in 2010.
Yet Dorival Junior urged fans and the media not to put too much pressure on Neymar when he returns following his lengthy absence.
‘There’s no need to talk about what Neymar represents,’ he said. ‘He is currently recovering his form, we understand and are aware of this. But we believe his abilities and qualities allow him to be in a condition to overcome any situation on the field.
‘He is a player whose [Brazil] team-mates themselves publicly expressed what he represents to the group.
‘We were waiting for him to return, this is the first opportunity that we could have him [since recovering from injury]. I hope he is very happy when he returns.
‘Let’s give him the confidence to develop to the best of his ability, let’s not create high expectations, let’s not place all the responsibility on his return.’
Brazil are currently fifth in their World Cup qualifying group, and still have work to do to secure their place at next year’s tournament.
They are due to face Colombia and reigning world champions Argentina later this month.
