Neymar is out of the remainder of the World Cup. The forward suffered a broken bone in his back during last night’s 2-1 quarter final win over Colombia. The absence of Neymar is a massive blow to Brazil’s hopes of lifting the World Cup on home soil.
A knee in the back from Colombia defender Juan Zuniga left the Brazilian lying on the pitch, clearly in distress. Neymar was removed from the pitch on a stretcher and rushed to a private clinic in Fortaleza, where an x-ray revealed the extent of the injury – a fractured vertebra.
Brazil’s team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said: "It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilise it to recover.
"Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play."
Neymar was “crying out in pain” according to Brazil manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari. Scolari discussed Neymar’s injury at a press conference before the results of a scan showed the full extent of the injury.
“He was crying out in pain and I can guarantee it’s going to be hard for him, from what the doctors are telling me, and from what I was seeing, with the pain he was in. He’s young, he has a lot of energy and he takes cares of himself. So let’s see. Let’s just hope it’s not a serious problem,” Scolari said.
The Barcelona forward has so far been Brazil's star man, impressively shouldering the burden of a nation expecting glory with a team that seems far short of the standard required for World Cup immortality. His four goals and general play have been Brazil's main positive and his absence is surely the host nation's greatest footballing fear realised.
Brazil won the game with goals from Thiago Silva and David Luiz. The second was a sublime free kick from the Chelsea centre back. Colombia hit back with a penalty from James Rodriguez in the 82nd minute. It was the Monaco forward’s 6th goal of the tournament.
That the goals came from Brazil’s central defensive pairing and a penalty was fitting. Luiz’s moment of magic aside, the game was a cynical, industrial affair that fell far short of the wonderful sense of occasion produced by the frenzied home crowd in Fortaleza. A trend of foul play set in early on – particularly from the home side, who employed rough tactics to limit the efforts of Colombia’s danger man Rodriguez.
Last night’s game saw 54 fouls, the most in the tournament (and this was with a referee allowing a lot pass him by). The previous highest total was 51, in Brazil’s previous game, against Chile. If this Brazil side are not to be remembered as the side that won the World Cup on home soil, they might well be remembered as one of the most unappealing Selecao sides to watch in the tournament’s history. With the flair of Neymar now gone it seems unlikely there will be a reversal in the trend that has seen the home side delve further into the dark arts of the game as the tournament has gone on.
Brazil’s Fernandinho and Paulinho in particular were guilty of several cynical challenges last night but neither received a booking. Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carbolla did not show a yellow card until the 64th minute when he booked Brazilian captain Thiago Silva for blocking the kick out of Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina. Silva’s yellow card means he too misses the semi-final against Germany, further bolstering the chances of a Brazil exit. Carbolla appeared to lose control of the game as his failure to discipline players led to ever heavier, more cynical challenges.
