Brazilian striker Neymar has announced his return to group training with Saudi club Al-Hilal, almost a year after suffering a serious knee injury.
Neymar joined the Saudi Arabian league side in August 2023 after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
But he suffered a serious injury to the cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee a few weeks later, on October 17, during Brazil’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in a qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“I’m happy to be back in the group,” Neymar wrote in Portuguese on his Instagram account, accompanying the text with several photographs on the pitch with his teammates and Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus.
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The footballer, who receives an annual salary of 100 million euros, has been training separately since July.
His return to competition “depends on the technical preparation and the decision of the coach,” an Al-Hilal official said.
The club has not yet included Neymar in the list of players participating in the local championship, which began in August, but he does appear in the list of players participating in the Asian championship, which also made its debut.
The absence of the Brazilian star did not affect the results of his team, which won the last national championship, establishing a historic series of 34 consecutive victories in the different competitions.
His return to group training is encouraging news for the Brazilian national football team, which has had poor results since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where it was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Croatia.
Last week, Brazilian coach Dorival Junior warned that the injury to the five-time world champions’ historic striker was not “simple.”
“We will wait, we will be patient. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t come back in October, November, or even February,” he said at a press conference on Friday.
To return, “he has to be confident, playing, and fully recovered,” he added when announcing his squad for the qualifying matches against bottom club Chile and Peru in October.
Much criticized and with disappointing play, the ‘Selecao’ is in fifth place in the standings, with ten points from eight games, on the verge of the playoffs.
Jorge Jesus’ uncertainty about Neymar’s return
“Neymar is an important player for the Saudi club and the league in general. However, I cannot specify a date as to when he will return, but we will analyze the situation in January,” were the words of Jorge Jesus, the coach of Al Hilal, regarding when Neymar can play again. From the top offices of the Arab club, they do not intend to rush the timetable for the Brazilian’s return to action at 100%.
Although he has returned to training, his team will only be able to register him in January for the second half of the championship, as his place was taken by his countryman Marcos Leonardo, who arrived from Benfica in Portugal a few days ago.
The rules clearly state that clubs can register up to eight foreign players over the age of 21, a quota already met by the team that won the Saudi league last season. They could, however, play in the Asian Champions League, where there are no limits.
