Brazil team doctor offers update on Neymar ahead of World Cup knockout stages
By Tom Gott
The doctor of the Brazil national team has admitted that Neymar faces a race against time to recover ahead of the Selecao's World Cup last-16 clash against South Korea on Monday.
Neymar suffered an ankle injury during Brazil's tournament opener and was swiftly ruled out of the remaining fixtures of the group stage, in which Tite's side finished top of Group G but ended on a sour note as they were stunned 1-0 by Cameroon.
The hope was that Neymar would be ready to return for the knockout stages, and while team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar was optimistic, he confessed that the Paris Saint-Germain forward hasn't even returned to training yet.
"Regarding Neymar and Alex Sandro, we think we have time on our hands and there is a possibility," Lasmar told reporters.
"Let’s wait what their transition will be - they have still not started to practice with the ball and it’s something they will do tomorrow. It will be important to see how they respond to this new style, so depending on that, we will make a call.
"Danilo has been evolving very positively and today he did intense work with the ball and has adapted functionally very positively. The expectation is tomorrow he will be able to train normally with all players.
"Let’s observe what happens and if everything is OK, we have very high expectations that he will be available for the next match."
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In the same opening fixture, Danilo suffered an injury which has sidelined him ever since, and he was joined on the treatment table by left-back Alex Telles after he hurt his knee against Cameroon.
"Alex Telles came off complaining of pain in his right knee after trauma. He has been assessed in the changing room and tomorrow will do a magnetic resonance image to be able to assess his condition," Lasmar said.
"Gabriel Jesus after the game complained of pain in his right knee and after clinical assessment, we have asked for an imaging exam tomorrow."