Heartbreak for Brazil as star man is ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a suspected broken vertebrae.
Brazil’s evening has been soured somewhat with news reports emanating from the country that superstar forward Neymar will miss the rest of the tournament with a suspected broken vertebrae, suffered in a brutal quarter final victory over Colombia.
Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar is reported to have confirmed that the Barcelona star will be ruled out with the back injury, sustained in a fairly innocuous incident as the game ticked down towards injury time.
Brazil will now face Germany in the semi-final at the tournament after narrowly edging Colombia in Fortaleza, thanks to a rasping second-half free-kick that David Luiz smashed into the net from long range.
Germany will fancy their chances, with the Selecao once again having underwhelmed on home soil and Scolari’s finest player now appearing to be unavailable for selection, but they will have to face up to the will of the nation which continually seems to be able to haul Brazil over the line.