Neymar avoids another injury after a horrendous tackle

A huge part of Brazil still hopes that Neymar will go to the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. It is true that he has not won a major trophy with the national team, but he is an icon and the all-time top scorer of the most decorated national team in the world. In much of his homeland, he enjoys almost god-like status. Carlo Ancelotti has repeatedly stressed that Neymar will not be included in the squad unless he is 100 percent fit. The question is — how can he be, when in Brazil there is a constant hunt for him, like there once was for bounty heads in the Wild West?

Neymar has recovered from his knee injury and returned to the pitch for the first time in two months, playing a half in the Paulista championship against fourth-division side Velo. He barely escaped without serious injury. The opposition, down to ten men and already trailing 4–0 (the match ended 6–0), nearly sent Neymar into another lengthy spell on the sidelines. There was a horrific tackle on his ankle, but fortunately the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star managed to continue the match and even set up a goal for Gabigol. When he first emerged in Brazil more than fifteen years ago as a teenage sensation, opponents rushed to injure him because his dribbling often humiliated them. He still does the same today — but his body is no longer as resilient.