LONDON, Oct. 22 (dpa/EP) –
Brazilian striker Neymar ended his year-long injury layoff by coming on as a second-half substitute in Al Hilal’s 5-4 victory over Al Ain on Monday in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League. ).
With his team winning 5-3, the 32-year-old came on for Nasser Al Dawsari in the 77th minute at the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium. “I feel good, I’m very happy. I’m back,” Neymar said after the game in a video published on Al Hilal’s X account.
The Brazilian attacker tore his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in October 2023, while playing for his national team, and has been sidelined since then.
Riyadh-based Al Hilal signed Neymar in 2023 from Paris Saint-Germain, but muscle strains limited him to just five games before suffering a serious knee injury.
Neymar had to leave the field on a stretcher during Brazil’s 2-0 defeat in Uruguay in the South American World Cup Qualifiers on October 18 last year, and underwent surgery to repair the damage the following month.