Last night, Neymar was forced to leave the field due to injury during his second game of the season with Al-Hilal. At 32 years old, the Brazilian forward is at risk of joining the ranks of “fragile” players like Abu Diaby or Yoann Gourcuff, whose careers have been plagued by persistent injuries.
Since arriving in Europe, Neymar has suffered 37 injuries, according to Transfermarkt, and his situation hasn’t improved much since his move to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023. After over a year sidelined with a serious knee injury, he returned to action on October 21 in an Asian Champions League match against Al-Ain.
Although Neymar nearly scored in that game, he was not registered for the Saudi Pro League. Last night, he played his second match of the season against Esteghlal in the Asian Champions League, helping Al-Hilal to a 3-0 victory. However, in the 87th minute, he was forced to leave the pitch, clearly in pain and frustrated by yet another injury setback.
**Neymar Speaks Out After Latest Injury**
Following the match, Neymar shared his thoughts on the situation, and coach Jorge Jesus also provided some clarity. Jesus explained, “Neymar is coming back from a serious injury and plays in a role that exposes him to a lot of tackles. I believe this time it’s a muscle issue, not related to his knee. He will likely be out for at least two weeks.” He further added, “I chose not to register him for the league because I foresaw that something like this might happen again. This is no ordinary injury.”
