Brazil manager Tite said star forward Neymar would fight through the pain barrier to continue playing in the FIFA World Cup despite an ankle injury
Neymar suffered the injury in the second-half of Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Serbia in Group G on Friday and played on for several minutes before being substituted by Manchester United forward Antony
He was later seen in tears while sitting on the bench with noticeable swelling in his right ankle
“Neymar will play the World Cup, you can be sure of that,” Tite told a post-match press conference, reports Xinhua
“I didn’t see that Neymar was injured. I only saw it later on the video (replay). He was able to play on and overcome (the pain),” he added
Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said the extent of the injury would be known in 24-48 hours. “We’ll have to wait to make a full assessment, maybe tomorrow (Friday),” Lasmar said
He added that medical staff was also monitoring an ankle injury sustained by right-back Danilo during the match at Lusail stadium
Meanwhile, Serbia manager Dragan Stojkovic has blamed injuries to key players for his team’s poor second half in the defeat to Brazil