The prognosis has been made public today: the Brazilian star suffers a severe sprain in his right ankle, the result of a blow in the game this Thursday, Brazil-Serbia, and will miss the last two games of the phase qualification and will not return to the scene until the round of 16 (December 5 at the earliest, as long as Brazil reaches that round: their chances are more than considerable, given that the Brazilians ran over the Serbs on their debut : 2-0).
If in 2014, Neymar had missed the humiliating semifinal against Germany (how can we forget that fateful 1-7 draw?) due to a back injury, this time the problem is in the ankle, an issue that also haunts Danilo, another key man for the Brazilians, another man who disappears from the scene until the round of 16.
Neither Neymar nor Danilo trained today at the Grand Hamad Stadium and they will not play against Switzerland on Monday or Cameroon on Friday.
Both had left the pitch complaining the day before (in Neymar's case, he was replaced by Antony in the 80th minute), questioning their short-term future and cursing their bad luck.
While the doctors analyzed his physical condition, the coaching staff lamented the circumstances and prepared for a poor prognosis. The reality is that it is not clear if they will be able to rejoin the remainder of the World Cup.
"We must be cautious about their recoveries," said a statement from the medical staff.
