Every Major Injury Neymar Suffered at the FIFA World Cup

Neymar is known to be one of the best technical players in world football, but one thing that has haunted his career over the years is his injury record.

His injury record has been poor throughout his career, and many fans expected that Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti would not take Neymar to the World Cup. Ancelotti ultimately decided to call up Neymar to the Brazil World Cup roster.

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However, Neymar does not arrive at the 2026 World Cup fully fit after suffering a muscle tear while playing for Santos FC a few weeks ago. This injury will cause Neymar to miss Brazil's World Cup opening match against Morocco today.

Let's take a look at other injuries Neymar has suffered during or around a World Cup.

Neymar's 2014 Injury vs Colombia

One of the most heartbreaking injuries during a World Cup was Neymar fracturing his vertebra after taking a knee from Colombia player Juan Camilo Zuniga.

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Brazil and Colombia played each other in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals. Brazil won the match 2-1 and advanced to the semifinals, but the win was bittersweet as Neymar suffered an injury that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament.

Neymar was the best player for Brazil in that tournament and missed Brazil's semifinal match against Germany and the third-place match against the Netherlands; both matches ended in losses for Brazil.

Neymar's 2014 thigh injury

Neymar played in all three of Brazil's group stage matches in the 2014 World Cup, but the toll of the games left to issues for the Brazilian star.

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It was reported that Neymar suffered from severe thigh and knee bruising issue. Neymar managed to play through the pain, but the Brazilian star would then suffer a back fracture in the quarterfinals that ruled him out.

Neymar's 2018 Ankle Injury

In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Neymar did not seem normal during the matches as he had recently recovered from a fractured metatarsal and severe ankle sprain.

Nyemar lacked full fitness throughout the tournament but played in all five matches, where he scored two goals and provided an assist.

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Neymar played all 90 minutes of all five matches he played in for Brazil in the 2018 World Cup.

Neymar's 2022 Ankle Ligament Issue

Neymar arrived at the 2022 World Cup fit, but in Brazil's opening game against Serbia, the Brazilian star received a tackle that caused ligament damage to his right ankle.

Neymar was taken off in the 80th minute and missed the rest of the group stage, which was against Switzerland and Cameroon.

Neymar returned for the knockout stage, where he played against South Korea and Croatia. Neymar scored two goals and provided an assist in the 2022 World Cup.

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