Neymar Looks Ready For Brazil’s World Cup Match Versus South Korea

Here’s an update on what over the past week has arguably been the world’s most watched ankle. Neymar’s right ankle and the rest of his body were on the practice field with the rest of the Brazilian national football team on Sunday in Doha, Qatar. It would have been very disturbing had his ankle been there but not the rest of the star forward’s body. So, his entire body practicing was a good sign that his right ankle has recovered enough for him to be available for Monday’s round of 16 match between against South Korea at the 2022 World Cup.

As I reported for Forbes on November 25, Neymar’s right ankle drew worldwide attention after a knee from a Serbian player caused his right foot to flip inwards or invert. This resulted in a sprain of the lateral ligament in his right ankle during the team’s opening group match win against Serbia. A sprain essentially is a tear of a ligament. Ligaments are the fibrous tissues that help connect one bone to another. If someone were to ask you, “Could I take away all the ligaments from your body,” you should say, “No.” That’s because without ligaments your bones may not remain closely connected with each other, which would not be a good thing.

At the time, it was unclear what the severity of Neymar’s injury might be. Based on the swelling clearly present, it looked worse than a Grade 1 sprain. A Grade 3 sprain (a complete tear) or a severe Grade 2 sprain (a major partial tear) would have meant that he was done for the remainder of the World Cup. But his being back on the practice field suggests that he probably had a Grade 2 sprain that wasn’t super severe.

In a news conference on Sunday, Brazil’s manager Tite did say the following about Neymar, “He will practice this afternoon, and if everything is okay, he will play.” He added, “Neymar being on the lineup depends on the medical department clearing that.

Neymar’s return would be good news for the Selecao, which is the nickname for Brazil’s national football. Typically, you want your star player to be available, especially when your team reaches the knockout stage of the World Cup. The knockout stage doesn’t mean that only really hot people are allowed to play. It means that you has to win each match to keep advancing and playing. A loss means that you are knocked out of the tournament and have to go home.

Monday’s matchup is intriguing pitting one of the most successful national programs in World Cup history against a national program that has made great strides in the 200o’s. Brazil has won the World Cup five times and were pre-tournaments favorites to hoist the trophy for a record sixth time, because, you know, five plus one would be six. By contrast, South Korea hadn’t even qualified for the knockout stage until the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea, when they finished in fourth place. This year’s team, led by Captain Son Heung Min, is a formidable foe, having finished second in Group H, after beating Portugal 2-1 in their third and final match of the Group stage. They finished with one win, one tie, and one loss at the Group stage, while Brazil won two of their matches before losing to Cameroon.

Two injured ankles may be back for the Monday showdown in Qatar. The other ankle belongs to Danilo, the right back for Brazil who injured his left ankle against Serbia, but looks to be right back as well. The Serbia match was a bad turn for both Neymar and Danilo. However, they hope that they can get their turn to hold up the World Cup championship trophy on December 18.