The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Wednesday that football sensation Neymar, who tore a ligament and meniscus in his left knee during a national team game last month, would have surgery on Thursday in his home country.
Doctor Rodrigo Lasmar of the national team will perform surgery on the 31-year-old, who signed with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in August, at Mater Dei hospital in the southeast city of Belo Horizonte, the CBF said in a statement.
Neymar had surgery from Lasmar in 2018 for a foot fracture.
On October 17, following Brazil’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in a World Cup qualifying match, Neymar was carried off in tears after colliding with Nicolas de la Cruz, the opposition player.
Exams revealed that the football player’s most significant knee injury was a damaged left anterior cruciate ligament.
He is anticipated to miss many months due to the injury, including Brazil’s forthcoming qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup this month against Colombia and bitter rival Argentina.
Neymar has had a number of ailments recently; he had surgery in March to treat an ankle issue that kept him out of action for six months.
His six seasons at PSG, where he was purchased for a record $234 million (222 million euros) in 2017, were mostly marred by fitness issues.
In August, he reportedly paid $95 million to sign Al Hilal.
Notwithstanding his struggles with injuries, Neymar made history in September when he overtook the great Pele to become Brazil’s all-time top goal scorer with 79 goals.