BRAZIL WERE ROCKED by an injury scare involving captain Neymar after two goals from Richarlison secured a 2-0 win over Serbia in Group G.

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar was substituted with 11 minutes remaining and was later seen with a badly swollen right ankle as he left the field.

It was the latest in a series of injury dramas surrounding the Brazilian talisman, whose 2014 World Cup was ended by a back injury.

The Brazilian skipper was also ruled out of the 2019 Copa America due to torn ligaments in the same right ankle. He also missed 10 weeks of the 2021/2022 season with an injured left ankle.

Neymar’s ankle doesn’t look good 😳 pic.twitter.com/1s2oNBeuUM

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2022

Brazilian team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said after the win it was too early to give a clear prognosis on his latest knock.

“We need to wait 24 to 48 hours to have a better assessment,” Lasmar said.

“We need to wait, we cannot make any premature comments about his evolution.”

Brazil coach Tite however said he was confident Neymar would be fit for the remainder of the tournament.

“You can be certain that Neymar is going to play in the World Cup,” Tite told reporters.

The injury took the shine off a Brazilian win that came through goals from Tottenham’s Richarlison, including a spectacular volleyed second goal.

“It’s a childhood dream come true,” Richarlison said afterwards.

“We played a good game, especially in the second half, when the opponent got tired, and we managed to take advantage of that.”

– © AFP 2022

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