The closest Neymar Jr. has been to a FIFA World Cup final was in 2014 when the Brazil national reached the semifinals before falling to Germany 7-1, in one of the more lopsided losses in their history.
Nonetheless, Neymar didn’t play in that match after suffering a third lumbar vertebra, after taking a knee from the Colombian Zúñiga in the back during the tournament’s quarterfinals, leaving him out of the competition.
In an exclusive interview with DAZN (via UOL Esporte), Neymar talked about the injury and told details of the moment that, for one thing, did not leave him without walking.
Neymar narrates that after feeling the pain in his back, left-back Marcelo tried to lift him; however, the Paris Saint-Germain forward describes the type of pain he was in as he called it the worst moment of his career.
“It was one of the worst moments of my career. It ended up taking away my dream of continuing to play the World Cup, of going to the semifinals, of playing the final,” Neymar said.
“It’s just that it hurts a lot. I try to move my legs, but I can’t. I don’t have the strength to get up. And then I say: “It’s not possible, it’s not possible. I don’t feel anything; I don’t feel anything,” he said. The striker was taken to the stadium’s infirmary, where he began to be evaluated by the medical team.”
The 29-year-old discussed the moment the doctor informed him that he was out for the tournament and how the injury almost resulted in him not walking.
“I remember I had my leg bent, and the doctor wanted to stretch my leg to lower it and make them both straight. I remember it gave me a shock, and I couldn’t move my feet. That’s where I started crying desperately,” Neymar said.
“They took me away to the hospital, I did the exams, and the doctor told me: “I have two news: one good and one bad. Which one do you want first?” and I said, “Ah! It’s bad.” “The bad thing is that you’re out of the Cup.” “I was already crying, I asked, ‘What’s the good thing then?'” and he said, “The good thing is that if you went two centimeters to the side, you wouldn’t walk anymore.”