BRAZIL HAVE BEEN given a major boost of confidence ahead of this summer’s World Cup, as PSG manager Unai Emery confirmed that star forward Neymar would be back in action “in two to three weeks”.
Emery was speaking in Bordeaux where PSG, without their talisman, face Monaco on Saturday in the French League Cup final.
“I spoke with him this week, he’s good, relaxed,” Emery said.
“We spoke about the final. He’s going to follow the game.”
Neymar, who is crucial to Brazil’s hopes at the World Cup which starts in Russia on 14 June, was hurt at the end of February against Marseille and returned to South America for treatment.
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The 26-year-old missed the second-leg defeat to Real Madrid on 6 March, which eliminated PSG from the Champions League.
National team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar performed surgery on 3 March and then estimated that Neymar would be out for “two-and-a-half to three months.”
That time frame would have meant Neymar’s PSG season was over.
Neymar missed the World Cup semi-finals in 2014 after suffering a serious back injury against Columbia. Getty Images
Getty Images
But for the striker, who was injured during the last World Cup and missed Brazil’s traumatic 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany, the objective was to be fully fit for this year’s competition.
PSG and the Brazilian football federation plan to assess Neymar’s health again in mid-April.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi visited Neymar’s bedside in Brazil in mid-March, partly to quash rumours that the star would be leaving Paris a year after his high-profile arrival for a world-record €222 million last summer.
“The doctors aren’t yet in a position to say exactly when he will return,” Al-Khelaifi said at the time.
However Friday’s update will come as welcome news for Brazil, who defeated Germany 1-0 in an international friendly in Berlin last week, exacting revenge for their semi-final exit on home soil for years ago.
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Brazil given major World Cup boost as Neymar to return in "two to three weeks"
BRAZIL HAVE BEEN given a major boost of confidence ahead of this summer’s World Cup, as PSG manager Unai Emery confirmed that star forward Neymar would be back in action “in two to three weeks”.
Emery was speaking in Bordeaux where PSG, without their talisman, face Monaco on Saturday in the French League Cup final.
“I spoke with him this week, he’s good, relaxed,” Emery said.
“We spoke about the final. He’s going to follow the game.”
Neymar, who is crucial to Brazil’s hopes at the World Cup which starts in Russia on 14 June, was hurt at the end of February against Marseille and returned to South America for treatment.
The 26-year-old missed the second-leg defeat to Real Madrid on 6 March, which eliminated PSG from the Champions League.
National team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar performed surgery on 3 March and then estimated that Neymar would be out for “two-and-a-half to three months.”
That time frame would have meant Neymar’s PSG season was over.
But for the striker, who was injured during the last World Cup and missed Brazil’s traumatic 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany, the objective was to be fully fit for this year’s competition.
PSG and the Brazilian football federation plan to assess Neymar’s health again in mid-April.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi visited Neymar’s bedside in Brazil in mid-March, partly to quash rumours that the star would be leaving Paris a year after his high-profile arrival for a world-record €222 million last summer.
“The doctors aren’t yet in a position to say exactly when he will return,” Al-Khelaifi said at the time.
However Friday’s update will come as welcome news for Brazil, who defeated Germany 1-0 in an international friendly in Berlin last week, exacting revenge for their semi-final exit on home soil for years ago.
- © AFP 2018
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Injury Ligue 1 Neymar PSG Raring to go Return Russia 2018 World Cup World Cup 2018