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Neymar, the Brazilian footballing superstar, suffered a hamstring injury, which ruled him out for four to six weeks as confirmed by Al-Hilal on Wednesday, November 6, putting his future at the Saudi Arabian club in doubt. This happened during his second appearance off the substitute’s bench for Al-Hilal after a 12-month injury layoff against Esteghlal FC in the AFC Champions League Elite, a game which they won 3-0 earlier this week.
Notably, Neymar had pulled up while stretching for the ball with three minutes remaining during Al-Hilal’s battle against Esteghlal FC at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. After being replaced on the pitch, Neymar took to his official social media to update the fans about his recent fitness issue, stating that it hopefully won’t be too much since the doctors had warned him about the difficulties about returning to football after one year absence.
He seems to be suffering from muscle pain: Jorge Jesus's initial reaction on Neymar's injury
In the press conference in Riyadh after Al-Hilal defeated Esteghlal FC, Jorge Jesus addressed the injury to Neymar, and remarked, as per ESPN, “Unfortunately, it is not a simple injury and he seems to be suffering from muscle pain and it is not a knee issue.” It is further reported that Al-Hilal might decide against registering Neymar for the second half of the ongoing Saudi Pro League season, and his contract with the club is set to run out in June 2025.
Moreover, after signing with Al-Hilal in the summer of 2023 for a reported fee of $90 million, Neymar has played just seven matches for the club in the past 15 months or so. As of right now, Al-Hilal have not registered Neymar to be a part of the Saudi Pro League since they already have the maximum of 10 foreign players listed in the squad, but he is eligible to be a part of continental tournaments.
