Neymar set to return for Brazil, but Jesus out of tournament
Neymar could return for Brazil’s World Cup last-16 tie with South Korea, but national team boss Tite launched a scathing attack on his own “haters” for spreading fake news regarding the fitness of Gabriel Jesus.
An ankle injury saw Neymar miss group stage matches with Switzerland and cameroon, but he is back in training and will be involved in today’ s knock out fixture, if he comes through their final session with no concerns.
It is a different story for Jesus, who started Friday’s 1-0 loss to Cameroon, only to sustain a knee injury which will rule him out of there st of the tournament in qatar, following the results of a scan on Saturday.
Asked during his pre-match press conference if Jesus already had an issue with his knee prior to the World Cup, Tite replied: “Thank you very much for your question, because I don’t like hearing lies out there, evil lies. Those are the people who want to do bad things for others. At no time whatsoever do we play for victory at the risk or peril of a player.
“So the liar who is out there, because that is what we call them, that’s the name? The haters who keep giving hate, go and do something else and stop givhwang ing fake news. Arsenal has a great medical department, we have a great medical department and we are responsible.
“We are personally responsibleand ethical and it would never have happened. I didn’t want this to happen. It is a shame.”
Tite’s assistant coach Cesar Sampaio added: “That’s importantfor us to clarify because ti te and (technical director) Juninho were specifically visiting Arsenal (in August) and at no moment were we made aware, not only them but as medical staff and I repeat what Tite said, we will never put health at risk for any result.”
Neymar, who saw his 2014 tournament cut short by injury, was one of those on hand to provide comforting words for Jesus.
The paris st germ a in attack er will be involved against South Korea today, if he proves his fitness.
“Neymar will practise this afternoon and if he practises okay, he will be playing tomorrow,” Tite said yesterday. “The other 10 you don’t know who they are.”
Brazil made wholesale changes for their last Group G clash with Cameroon – after already securing qualification – and despite defeat, captain Thiago Silva believes it was wise to let certain members of the squad rest up.
Silva said: “The Korea team will be more tired than Brazil,
but this is a World Cup. I am sure, despite being tired, they are motivated and want to reverse the result of our last friendly match.”
Brazil inflicted a 5-1 defeat on South Korea in their previous meeting, in June, but will face a side brimming with confidence.
Hee-chan’s stop page time goal helped korea secure a shock 2-1 win over Portugal on Friday that sent them into the knockout phase.
While boss Paulo Bento is frustrated at the short turnaround between fixtures, he knows his side will give everything to produce another world Cup upset.
“There is nothing to lose and only something to win,” Bento said. “I do not think it’s fair to play a match every 72 hours, but we need to accept it. If that is FIFA’S decision, we need to understand and accept it.”