Brazil hit by Neymar injury scare

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  | XINHUA |   Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar is a doubt for Brazil’s opening 2022 World Cup qualifier against Bolivia because of a back problem, the Selecao team’s doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old was earlier forced to leave a training session at Brazil’s Granja Comary base in Teresopolis, near Rio de Janeiro, to undergo physiotherapy.

“Neymar felt pain in the lumbar region during the warm-up of today’s training … and was taken off and examined,” Lasmar said in a video sent to reporters.

“He has started treatment and physiotherapy. The next 24 hours will be important to see how his recovery will be. We’ll evaluate him again before training [on Thursday] and we’ll have a better idea then.”

Brazil will face Bolivia in Sao Paulo on Friday and Peru in Lima next Tuesday.

There was better news involving forward Richarlison, who trained freely after injuring his left ankle while playing for Everton in their 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday.

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XINHUA

Brazil hit by Neymar injury scare