Neymar will miss the next four to six weeks due to a hamstring injury, his club Al Hilal has confirmed.

The 32-year-old made his return after a 12-month absence following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury when he came on as a substitute for the Saudi Arabian club in their AFC Champions League match against Al-Ain on October 21.

However, he suffered the hamstring injury in the final moments of Al Hilal’s 3–0 win over Esteghlal on 4 November, before being substituted in the 87th minute of the match.

The Brazil international said after sustaining the injury: “It felt like a cramp, but very strong. I’m going to have some tests and I hope it’s nothing serious.

“It is normal for this to happen after a year. The doctors had already warned me, so I have to be careful and play more minutes.”

🔹 Neymar undergoes scans pic.twitter.com/Gt7T4GxvKh

— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) November 6, 2024

Brazil manager Dorival Junior dropped the forward from his Brazil squad last week, saying: “We decided not to sign him so as not to rush things. He has almost fully recovered, but he only had a few minutes left, which weighed heavily on the decision.

“He was prepared to be here, but he also understood the situation, the condition he is in, the lack of minutes on the pitch. We have to respect the club’s process. A player of his level always has the pleasure of being here. This is very important to us, even though he is not yet in top condition.”

Prior to his return, Neymar had not played since tearing the cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee while playing for Brazil in October 2023.

He had only played five games for Al Hilal before suffering an injury, having joined the Saudi Arabian side from Paris Saint-Germain for £80 million ($102 million) two months earlier.

Al Hilal will play against Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq on Friday.

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(Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)