Not fully recovered but will be ready for World Cup: Neymar
Rio de Janeiro, May 28 (IANS) Brazilian national team striker Neymar has admitted that he is not yet 100 percent game-ready after the injury that has kept him off the pitch for nearly three months, but said that there is still enough time for him to fully recover before next month’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.
“I’m not 100 percent ready yet,” the PSG striker said in a press conference ahead of the Brazilian team’s trip to London on Sunday, reports Efe.
“But time will remedy that. I’m taking it easy. We are still a few days away from the first (World Cup) match and I’ll be more certain by then.”
Neymar fractured a metatarsal bone in his right foot while playing for Paris Saint-Germain against Marseille on February 25 and got back to training in Teresopolis just this week.
He said that, although he has sustained injuries in the past, “losing the fear” is the hardest part, but he added that he is “getting better little by little.”
“Playing in a World Cup is a dream,” Neymar said. “I hope (the dream) ends with the title.”
After a week of training in Brazil, the national team on Sunday travelled to London for 12 days of preparation at Tottenham, as well as to play friendlies against Croatia in Liverpool (June 3) and Austria in Vienna (June 10), before heading to Russia for the tourney.
Brazil’s first World Cup match will be June 17 in Rostov against Switzerland.