One may have lost track of the days since Neymar has been sidelined. The Brazilian superstar’s injury during the World Cup qualifiers has prevented him from lacing up his boots. Although the player recently underwent a critical operation to recover, fans continue to wonder when he will make his return to action. It wasn’t until today that the doctors finally gave the soccer universe an answer to this question.

While his domestic season seemed to be over before it barely even started, Neymar is still keen to play for his international side in the 2024 Copa America. Will he be able to compete in the tournament? Let’s find out.

Doctor’s verdict on Neymar Jr’s return

During the World Cup qualifiers, Neymar got sidelined after fracturing his meniscus and tearing his ACL. Additionally, his previous injury during his time with PSG also relapsed. This forced the striker to get an emergency surgery, which eventually went through with great success. In fact, the Brazilian himself gave an update regarding the operation.

Now that his sole focus is on recovery, the soccer fraternity continues to wonder how long this process is expected to take. The doctors of his national team, Brazil, have now provided the anticipated answer to the question. Neymar will return to action after nine months. In this period of time, the Al Hilal star will be working on slowly functioning his left ankle and preparing himself to become match-ready.

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Notably, by the time he recovers, not only will his domestic season with Al Hilal end, but the trickster will also miss the 2024 Copa America. With the CONMEBOL tournament set to run between June 20 and July 14, and given his nine-month recovery period set to end somewhere in August 2024, it’s clear that he won’t be able to participate in this tournament.

Indeed, it is a huge blow for Brazil, who won’t have their star player on the pitch. Nevertheless, we will get to see him in action when the new season kicks off. Meanwhile, speaking of his surgery, it unexpectedly took extra time to finish.

Neymar’s surgery took extra time to finish

A typical surgical procedure for repairing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) usually takes a maximum of two hours to complete. However, in Neymar Jr.’s case, it lasted up to four hours. One significant factor in the extended surgery duration was the choice of ligament graft used for the ACL repair. This decision impacted the overall duration of the procedure due to the availability of multiple grafts.

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The next step was to assess whether there was additional damage to the cartilage and ligaments. This could have further complicated the surgery and prolonged the time required. Lastly, there might have been unexpected issues that surgeons or doctors may have encountered during the operation. Nevertheless, better late than never, as we say, as his operation was successful.

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