Neymar back training as Brazil hope to beat injuries
Selecao could be without defenders on their bench
World Cup favourites Brazil are racing to overcome injuries to key players as they prepare for their last-16 match against South Korea tonight, after a heavily changed side lost 1-0 to Cameroon on Friday. While star player Neymar and his association tweeted on Saturday night he was back in training his availability against the Koreans has not been confirmed yet.
Brazil have only one pure fullback available after leftback Alex Telles suffered a knee injury against Cameroon. Starting fullbacks Danilo and Alex Sandro are out after injuries suffered earlier in the competition and their availability is still unclear.
Telles and forward Gabriel Jesus, who also suffered a knee injury against Cameroon, were officially ruled out for the rest of the tournament by the Brazilian FA on Saturday*.
With their ticket already booked for the next round after two wins, coach Tite on Friday made nine changes against Cameroon from the team that won 1-0 against Switzerland, leading to Brazil’s first loss to an African nation in its World Cup history.
“The physical demand is ever increasing, the time is short, it’s a cumulative effect of games and sometimes you don’t have the ideal recovery time on your hands,” Tite told a said on Friday.
“Mentally, the Cup is very demanding. It drains you...”
Tite did not allow media to attend Brail’s training session on Saturday but said Neymar, Alex Sandro and Danilo would be on the pitch to test their condition.
If neither fullback can play, centreback Marquinhos could switch to the left and 39-yearold Dani Alves, who became the oldest Brazilian to start a World Cup match, against Cameroon, should play on the right. If Tite opts to use Real Madrid centreback Eder Militao as a fullback, as he did in the absence of Danilo against Switzerland, Brazil would have no defenders left to sit on the bench.
Fixtures
Today: Japan v Croatia (5pm); Brazil v South Korea (9pm) Tomorrow: Morocco v Spain (5pm); Portugal v Switzerland (9pm)