Neymar says injury won`t keep him from World Cup play
Brazilian football star Neymar said Friday he would be well enough to play in the World Cup in June despite a foot injury that could force him to miss the rest of the club season.
Madrid: Brazilian football star Neymar said Friday he would be well enough to play in the World Cup in June despite a foot injury that could force him to miss the rest of the club season.
The 22-year-old Barcelona player injured his left foot Wednesday during a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Spain`s Copa del Rey final.
FC Barcelona said Thursday he would be benched for four weeks and could miss the rest of the club season.
With less than two months to go, Neymar however promised to be healthy on time to play in the World Cup.
"I always had a bit of fear" that the injury would force me to "stay out ... of the World Cup," Neymar told Globo TV.
"But within the next three weeks I`ll be back and I hope to play Barcelona`s last game," he said.
Brazil coach Felipe Scolari plans for Neymar to lead his country`s hopes for a sixth World Cup title on home soil in June.
In the meantime Neymar will stay in shape by exercising with weights and in the pool, the medical department of Brazil`s national team said after talking with Barcelona.
"It`s horrible to be out, without training, without playing, and to see your comrades playing and training," he told Globo.
Neymar will be the second-youngest player to wear the number ten shirt for the Selecao at a World Cup.
Pele famously made the shirt his own as a 17-year-old at the 1958 finals and again in 1962 before another crown in 1970.
In an April 4 interview with Lance sports daily, Neymar said that "no match will be easy" in the World Cup as Brazil, who lost the final to Uruguay when they last staged the tournament at home back in 1950, take on the Croatians, Mexico and Cameroon in their pool.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.