Neymar ´will continue playing in the World Cup´ despite ankle injury, Tite confirms

Tite is confident Neymar will continue playing at the World Cup for Brazil despite the ankle injury he sustained in a bruising opening contest with Serbia.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward limped off in the latter stages of the Selecao’s 2-0 victory, which was sealed by Richarlison’s second-half brace, having been repeatedly fouled at Lusail Stadium.

Neymar looked close to tears as he received treatment on the bench, before being pictured with a swollen ankle as he made his way to the dressing room.

Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed the 30-year-old will undergo further assessment in the next 24 to 48 hours but Tite, who revealed Neymar continued playing a further 11 minutes after sustaining the injury, is adamant he will return.

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“[Neymar] felt this pain throughout the game, but he decided to stay on the pitch to help his team,” the head coach said.

“So it’s remarkable that he could bear this pain while his team was playing. He stayed 11 minutes on the pitch after his injury, until the moment he could no longer continue, and he was substituted.

“We are confident that Neymar will continue playing; he will continue playing in the World Cup.

“I didn’t see Neymar was injured – the capacity he had to overcome it tricked me, I only saw it now in the video. When he actually dribbled, it caused that injury, and in that second goal you see when he controlled the ball that he felt it.”