Having endured various muscular and joint complaints down the years, Neymar is reluctant to take to the field when artificial surfaces are involved. His former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain team-mate, Lionel Messi, often adopts a similar stance.
Santos do, however, need their talismanic captain to grace as many games as possible at the moment, having been dragged into a relegation battle. Neymar was able to figure prominently in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Mineiro at Arena MRV.
There was less than one minute on the clock when he turned his ankle without coming under a challenge from a rival. Neymar received treatment on the field as was considered to be in a fit enough state to continue – having already spent too much time in the physio room of late.
While helping to pick up an important point, Neymar took aim at the playing conditions afterwards. Taking to social media, the 33-year-old posted after being forced to take unnecessary risks on his fitness: “Proven… Synthetic is sh*t!”
Neymar’s selection was considered to be questionable heading into the game, with Santos aware of the problems that artificial pitches pose. He is, however, looking to get minutes under his belt in an ongoing bid to make Brazil‘s 2026 World Cup squad.
