It’s difficult to watch a footballer, especially one of such generational talent, unable to fulfil their potential because of injuries. But, regardless of his quality, that has been the case for Neymar.
The 31-year-old has consistently suffered from both short and long-term injuries throughout an often dazzling and controversial career, and it seems that the mercurial forward is set for another extended spell on the sidelines after tearing his ACL and meniscus on international duty.
The Al Hilal attacker was stretchered off during his nation’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay and is now set for surgery. The initial assessment is that Neymar will be in the treatment room for somewhere between six and nine months, putting his participation at the 2024 Copa America in jeopardy.
Love him or loathe him, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star has been devastatingly unlucky with injuries since first arriving in Europe back in 2013. Neymar has suffered a range of problems during his career, missing a staggering number of games as a result.
But just how long has Neymar spent sidelined throughout the course of his career?
Given the way Neymar plays the game, it’s hardly surprising that he suffers more injuries than most. The Brazilian’s trickery, willingness to run at the opposition and sharp feet make him a prime target to be scythed down by defenders – as well as being wonderfully adept at winding up opponents.
According to Transfermarkt, Neymar has missed an astonishing 893 days through injuries and illness since the 2013/14 season with Barcelona. That’s the equivalent of just under two-and-a-half years spent sidelined over the course of a decade.
That total doesn’t take into consideration his current injury status. Assuming that Neymar recovers in the minimum timeframe of six months from his ACL tear, that tally will rise to 1,087 days.
Neymar was regularly injured during his time at Camp Nou, but they were often short-term things he recovered from in the space of a few weeks at most. However, much like the majority of footballers, his injury record has got significantly worse as he’s aged.
Since his 28th birthday in 2020, Neymar has missed 579 days through injury and illness – including the time he is expected to be sidelined for after his current setback. That makes up over half of his time in the treatment room since arriving at Barcelona a little over ten years ago.
In that period, most of Neymar’s issues have revolved around ankle injuries. Brazil‘s record goalscorer even underwent ankle surgery in February 2023 and missed four months of football as a result. However, this ACL injury will be the longest individual period of time Neymar will spend injured, totalling 194 days…if he’s lucky.
Including the upcoming games Neymar will miss in the remainder of the 2023/24 season, the forward will have been absent for 201 matches for club and country since 2013/14 – the equivalent of more than five full 38-game league, seasons.
To put this into further context, that’s more games than Neymar has played for any individual club throughout his career. Playing every minute of every match, that’s a staggering 18,090 minutes of football that have passed him by due to injury and illness.
This is not including the 39 matches he’s missed through suspensions in the same time period which is approximately another full season of league football.
Overall, given these numbers, it’s quite astonishing that Neymar has managed to achieve as much as he has throughout his career, winning a remarkable 23 trophies at club level since arriving in Europe.
However, Neymar will be 32-years-old by the time he gets back on the field next year and there are surely only so many more injuries that his body can take.
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