Brazil national team head coach Tite said Neymar will play against South Korea in Monday’s last 16 World Cup match, if he practices “okay” on Sunday.
“He will practice this afternoon, and if everything is okay, he will play,” Tite said at a news conference on Sunday. “Neymar being on the lineup depends on the medical department clearing that.”
Neymar sprained his right ankle in his side’s opening World Cup match – a 2-0 win over Serbia - on November 24.
“Today has become one of the hardest moments in my career… and again in a World Cup,” Neymar, who was injured for Brazil’s World Cup semifinal in 2014, wrote on Instagram after his injury.
“I have an injury, yes, it’s bad, it’s going to hurt, but I’m sure I’ll have the chance to come back because I’ll do my best to help my country, my teammates and myself.
“A long time waiting for the enemy to knock me down like this? NEVER!”
Brazil won one and lost one match in Neymar’s absence in Qatar. The five-time champion faces South Korea at Stadium 974 in Doha on Monday.