Neymar still can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Seriously injured in the left knee with the Brazilian national team last October, the Brazilian striker has still not recouped the heavy investment made by Al-Hilal to snatch him from PSG during the 2023 summer transfer window. With only three games under his belt in the Saudi Pro League, Neymar is eagerly awaiting his return to the field, but it won’t be right away.
While the 32-year-old was expected to return in September, Al-Hilal fans will have to wait before seeing him combine with star Aleksandar Mitrovic. According to information from Arriyadiyah, Neymar’s medical tests were inconclusive. As a result, the staff believes that the former Catalan needs two more months of recovery. Forced to wait at least until November to hope to return to the green rectangle, the Brazilian saw his coach Jorge Jesus decide to only register him for the Asian Champions League.
We will have to make room for Neymar
Due to his prolonged unavailability, Neymar could experience the same setbacks as Jota with Al-Ittihad, who transferred to Stade Rennais this summer. In Saudi Arabia, clubs have a quota of foreigners and Al-Hilal is therefore forced to leave out one of the nine foreign players present: Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly; Renan Lodi, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Joao Cancelo, Malcom, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Neymar.
Like Jota, who did not participate in the championship at first, Neymar should not appear in the final list of registered players that will be revealed on September 11. But this could be a blessing in disguise since the Brazilian would then have time to recover properly, before potentially being registered in January, and playing the second part of the season, before seeing his contract expire until June 2025 with the Saudi club. It remains to be seen whether Neymar will decide to extend, or whether he will be content with this meager experience in Saudi Arabia.
- RMC Sport
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