“Today it’s time for you to comeback” - Neymar’s father shares message as Al-Hilal star gets ready to return to pitch after long-term injury

Neymar’s father has expressed delight as the Brazilian star is set to return to the pitch after a long-term injury. The Al-Hilal forward has not played since an anterior cruciate ligament injury in October last year.

Neymar joined Al-Hilal in 2023 for a reported fee of about €90 million from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). However, the 32-year-old played only five times for the club before his season-ending injury against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.

He underwent surgery and has since been recovering. The former PSG and Barcelona star returned to training in July but was not cleared to play until now.

Al-Hilal confirmed on Saturday (October 19) that the Brazilian will be in the squad for their upcoming AFC Champions Elite clash. They will take on United Arab Emirates side Al Ain away on Monday (October 21).

While there has been no confirmation yet if Neymar will play against Al Ain, his father anticipates his return. He said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X:

“Today it’s time for you to comeback, we wait for you on the pitch and your celebration.”

The Brazilian forward is eligible to partake in Al-Hilal’s Champions League games, but will not play in the Saudi Pro League until January.

How many games has Neymar missed since his recent long-term injury?

The Brazilian star has notably suffered multiple long-term injuries that have kept him sidelined for a good part of his career. As per Transfermrkt, he has been out for 378 days since his ACL injury last October.

In that period, the Al-Hilal star has missed 55 games for the club. He also missed out on Brazil’s 2024 Copa America campaign where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Uruguay on penalties (4-2). This is the longest he has been out for, surpassing his previous record of 130 days after an ankle injury with PSG during the 2022-23 campaign.

Neymar made a notable impact for Al-Hilal before he got sidelined. In five games for the Saudi club, he scored one goal and provided three assists. He will hope to add to his tally when he finally returns to the pitch.