Brazilian forward Neymar will undergo surgery after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee, his club Al Hilal has announced.
Neymar was in tears as he left the pitch after sustaining the injury during Brazil’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal has not said how long the 31-year-old is expected to be out.
Al-Hilal posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “He will undergo surgery and then a treatment program to be determined later. Return stronger Neymar.”
Neymar suffered the injury when he struggled for the ball with Uruguay’s Nicolas de la Cruz in the 44th minute of the 2-0 defeat.
He left the field in tears on a stretcher after several minutes of treatment and now appears to be sidelined for several months.
It could take six months to a year to recover from cruciate ligament injuries and that would likely rule him out for the rest of the season and cast doubt on his participation in next year’s Copa America, which starts in June.
Neymar is Brazil’s all-time top male scorer after surpassing Pele’s record last month with his 78th goal for his country in a World Cup qualifier against Bolivia. He added his 79th in the same match, which ended in a 5–1 win.
The ex-Barcelona striker left Paris Saint-Germain this summer to join Al Hilal on a two-year deal worth £129.4m per year, but has scored just once in five appearances for the Saudi side after his transfer of £86.3 million.
The injury is the latest setback for Neymar after he missed several months of his last two seasons at PSG due to ankle problems, while he also missed two World Cup matches last year after spraining his ankle in Brazil’s opening win against Serbia.