Neymar Will Not Play Again During World Cup Group Stage After Scan Finds Ankle Ligament Damage

Brazil will be without captain Neymar in their final two group games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup after a scan found ligament damage in his right ankle.

Neymar played 79 minutes on Thursday night in Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia before limping off in visible pain.

The Paris Saint-Germain playmaker had been fouled nine times.

Brazil boss Tite confidently claimed after Thursday's game that Neymar "will keep playing, you can be sure about that."

But Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar was more cautious and noted that Neymar had suffered a "direct trauma" on his right ankle and would need to be assessed further.

Following that further assessment, Lasmar gave another statement on Friday afternoon.

In it, he revealed that Neymar and Brazil right-back Danilo had both suffered ankle "ligament damage".

Neymar pictured on the ground during Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia after sustaining ligament damage in his right ankle

IMAGO/PA Images/Peter Byrne

Lasmar added: "It is important to be calm and evaluate day by day. The idea is to recover them for the rest of the competition."

If Neymar is to recover in time to play again at Qatar 2022 it will not be until the knockout phase.

Brazil's next group game is on Monday against Switzerland before they play Cameroon on Friday.

If Brazil win their group then they will play their first knockout match on December 5 against the runner-up from Group H, which contains Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea.

Should Brazil finish second then they will play the top team from Group H on December 6.