Neymar Substituted Due to Injury After Coming On for Al Hilal

Neymar made his second appearance for Al Hilal as he continues his comeback from a year-long absence due to an ACL tear, but this time he didn’t last long on the pitch.

The Brazil international came in the 58th minute of his team’s 3-0 win in an Asian Champions League Elite match on Monday, but was subbed off less than 30 minutes later after going to ground and grabbing the back of his right leg having seemed to pull while stretching his leg out for the ball in the penalty area. 

Aleksandar Mitrovic netted a hat trick to propel Al Hilal to victory, lifting them to the top of the Asian Champions League group stage table. Neymar made his first appearance for Al Hilal, whom he joined from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023, on October 21, but hadn't played again until Wednesday's match against Esteghlal, as he is ineligible to play in Saudi Pro League matches until January.

Al Hilal had planned a slow return for Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, who suffered a critical knee ligament injury during Brazil’s qualifier against Uruguay shortly after joining the Saudi side and underwent surgery last November. 

Neymar was also omitted from Brazil's latest squad for the upcoming November World Cup qualifiers, with coach Dorival explaining that the team and federation preferred not to rush his return to international duty. 

Currently, Brazil sits in fourth place in their World Cup qualifying group, four points behind leaders Argentina after 10 matches.