International soccer star Neymar suffered a torn ACL Wednesday during a match with the Brazilian national team. He will require surgery that could sideline him for eight months or more.
“It’s a very sad moment, the worst,” Neymar wrote on social media. “I know I’m strong but this time I’m going to need my family and friends even more. It’s not easy to go through injury and surgery. Imagine going through it all again after four months of recovery.”
Neymar was competing for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay, which the team went on to lose 2-0. The Brazilian star, 31, went down with the injury in the 43rd minute and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.
“Striker Neymar Jr. of the Brazilian team and Al-Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, underwent clinical and imaging tests this Wednesday, which confirmed the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee,” Brazil’s Football Confederation confirmed after the game in a statement.
The injury to one of soccer’s most popular stars could be a massive loss for the Brazilian team as well as Al-Hilal, his current club in Saudi Arabia. The team signed him to a massive deal reportedly worth $300 million in August.
Some speculate that a recent slate of setbacks could prevent Neymar from ever returning to his old form, which he demonstrated for the past decade as a member of the Brazilian national team and European clubs FC Barcelona and Paris-Saint Germain. He received ankle surgery in February and only returned in June before missing more time over the summer with muscular problems.
Though Neymar has never won a World Cup with Brazil or the Ballon d’Or as an individual club player, he did work with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to secure a Champions League trophy for FC Barcelona during the 2014-15 season. It remains to be seen if he will ever again be able to contribute to a team’s success in that manner again.
