Neymar warns the world he’ll be ready for Russia
SAO PAULO — Brazilian superstar Neymar said on Tuesday he expects to be back playing in the second half of May and will arrive at this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia “better than I was before” after recovering from foot surgery.
“There isn’t an exact date yet. I have the last exam, if I’m not mistaken, I’m not sure, on May 17,” the Paris Saint-Germain forward told a news conference in Sao Paulo.
“I’ll be cleared to play. Then I’ll see. It depends on how things develop, it depends on my next exams. It has not been decided,” he said.
The timing leaves the world’s most expensive soccer player in a tight race to feature again for PSG, with the newly crowned French champion’s season ending on May 19 with a game against Caen.
However, his prospects for starring for Brazil at the World Cup in Russia, which runs from June 14 to July 15, look much better.
“I hope I won’t watch the World Cup on TV,” Neymar joked, calling the tournament a “dream”.
“I will have enough time to prepare,” he said at the media conference, where he walked with crutches and wore a medical boot.
“It’s evolving well. I will arrive better than I was before.”
The 26-year-old broke a bone in his right foot on Feb 25 in a Ligue 1 game against Marseille, before returning to his home country for surgery and rehabilitation.
Brazil’s national team doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, performed surgery on March 3 and then estimated that Neymar would be out for up to three months”.
In Neymar’s absence, PSG was knocked out of the Champions League in the last-16 stage by reigning champion Real Madrid in March.
Brazil opens its World Cup campaign on June 17 against Switzerland in Rostov, and will also face Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E.
The Selecao won the last of their six World Cup titles in 2002, with their finals four years on home soil ending in a humiliating 7-1 semifinal mauling to eventual champion Germany.
For now, Neymar said he spends much of his time playing poker — his “favorite pastime” — playing video games and going on the computer”.
Not that he enjoys the couch potato experience much.
“There are doubts, of course. I feel them too. But it’s normal for a guy who ended up injured. This was the first surgery in my career,” he said.
“It’s really hard seeing my team score and becoming champion without me being with them.
“Still, I am more rested. We have to look on the bright side.”