NEYMAR’S FEAR... BUT RICH A HIT
NEYMAR handed Brazil a World Cup injury scare last night after Richarlison lit up the tournament with a stunning strike.
Tottenham striker Richarlison (above) scored twice – his second a breathtaking volleyed scissor kick – but the win was soured by a potentially serious injury to Neymar.
Brazil’s star player suffered an ankle injury and came off in the 80th minute after playing through the pain barrier.
Now his World Cup appears to be hanging in the balance.
Brazil’s team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said: “Neymar has a right ankle trauma. Due to the
impact that he had with the knee of the Serbia player we immediately started the treatment when he was on the bench.
“With physiotherapy, we need to wait 24 to 48 hours to have a better assessment.
“We have not scheduled an MRI but we will have a new assessment.
“We need to wait now, we can’t make any premature comments on his condition.
“He stayed on the pitch and continued for 11 minutes, before he was substituted.”
Brazil coach Tite said: “Neymar (above) felt this pain throughout the game but he decided to stay on the pitch to help his team.
“It’s remarkable he could stand this pain to continue playing for his team.”
Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic said: “My team was completely physically down and I want to know why, because I don’t know why. It was strange.
“We have three key players who are injured, which is too much for us. We’re not Brazil, with 200 million people, we are a very small country.
“Those are the facts. I’m very sorry for that. Brazil were much better than us in the second half and deserved the win.”