When Neymar twisted his ankle back in February, during a heated victory for PSG over arch-rivals Marseille, it wasn’t just his Qatari employers but also a nation of 200-million plus Brazilians who collectively winced and feared the worst.
Almost two months later, all parties concerned can take a sigh of relief with the news that the 26-year-old attacker is expected to be heading back to Paris soon, with a view to reaching peak fitness ahead of his country’s campaign to lift the World Cup for a record sixth time in Russia this summer.
Though at first it was reported that there was no set date for his return, reports out of Brazil have suggested that a late May return has been penciled in for the former Santos and Barcelona man in fixtures that would mean little considering PSG’s securing of the Ligue 1 title at the weekend which therefore carry far less risk of him picking up another knock.
Impossible as it may be to deny his ability to turn a match on its head, those in the star’s homeland have recently been pushed to question just how much Neymar’s country needs him given stellar team performances in his absence recently, which took in friendly victories against Russia and Germany as the in-form Douglas Costa more than impressed onlookers stepping into his role.
Compare this predicament to that encountered in 2014, when Brazil’s hopes of winning the World Cup on home soil vanished into thin air as soon as Neymar was stretchered off against Colombia in the knock-out phases. This time round, Tite’s Brazil is one of balance that can make room for Neymar as opposed to being entirely built around him – with some corners suggesting that the seleção is perhaps altogether better off without the ballon D’or hopeful.
With a friendly against Croatia at Anfield on June 3 confirmed this morning, to match a clash one week later against Austria in Vienna, fans and pundits alike will judge with intrigue as to how Neymar makes his way back into the team he has thus far netted for 53 times in 83 appearances.
