The Brazilian playmaker has emerged as an injury-prone player looking at the sequence in which he limps off the field or is sidelined in games.
Neymar has already suffered three injuries in 2019 and has missed 175 days in the process, with more expected to come after he limped off on Sunday against Nigeria.
The Brazilian walked off the pitch on Sunday 13th October while playing for Brazil in a game against Nigeria due to an injury.
The extent of the injury is yet to be determined, but the fact remains that the Paris Saint Germain star man is now susceptible to injuries after having suffered 16 of them in his career.
READ MORE: Neymar limps off as Brazil draw with Nigeria
Pulse Sports has compiled the list of injury setbacks that have come Neymar’s way in his career:
Neymar’s first major injury setback was in January 2014 when the Brazilian broke his ankle while playing for Barcelona. He missed 32 days of football.
2014 was a very bad year for the former Barcelona forward. After witnessing two injuries in January and April as if that was not enough, he suffered a serious injury blow perhaps the worse in his illustrious career.
In July 2014, soccer megastar Neymar suffered a back injury in a World Cup match against Colombia. The injury occurred late in the quarterfinal match when Camilo Zuniga kneed Neymar in the back. Brazil went on to win the match 2-0, but then it faced Germany in the semifinals without Neymar — where it was soundly trounced by 7-1 in one of the most one-sided matches of all time.
What followed was a long recovery process for Neymar. The official diagnosis was a lumbar vertebrae fracture. Neymar once alluded to the seriousness of the injury. Shortly after he took the hit, he said in an interview that he “could be in a wheelchair” had the knee come a little to the left. Neymar has always been emotional about the injury. He was sidelined until Aug. 4 that year.
In an interview with The Player’s Tribune, however, Neymar detailed just how much worse the injury could have been.
“I’ve experienced many moments that haven’t been good,” Neymar said about his World Cup career. “But it’s about the injury. The injury has been my worst moment because of the week I went through there — all that. I just cried at home, I would see my mom, my dad, crying — everyone sad, my friends, family … and this, to me, has been the worst moment.”
Below is the full list of every Neymar injury in his professional career:
January 16, 2014: Ankle injury, 32 days-
April 17, 2014: Foot injury, 25 days-
July 3, 2014: Spine Injury, 32 days-
August 1, 2014: Sprained ankle, 7 days-
December 7, 2015: Thigh muscle problem, 7 days-
December 10, 2015: Thigh muscle problem, 11 days-
January 21, 2016: Thigh muscle problem, 7 days-
December 5, 2016: Thigh muscle problem, 7 days-
March 9, 2017: Leg muscle problem, 7 days-
September 21, 2017: Physical problem, 4 days-
November 2, 2017: Physical problem, 11 days-
February 26, 2018: Metatarsal fracture, 90 days-
November 21, 2018: Adductor complaint, 25 days-
January 24, 2019: Foot injury, 85 days-
June 7, 2019: Ankle ligament rupture, 90 days-
October 13, 2019: Pending
