More bad luck for Neymar
Neymar will miss the Copa America after sustaining an ankle injury during a friendly against Qatar.
Brazil cruised to a 2-0 win over Qatar in the capital city, Brasilia, on Wednesday night, but lost their talisman in the process as he damaged his ankle ligaments before hobbling off the pitch.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward was stripped of the captaincy in May, with his club teammate Dani Alves set to wear the armband this summer, but still shouldered much of the responsibility of taking Brazil to the deeper stages of the competition.
It has now been confirmed that the 26-year-old will miss the entire tournament, which is being held in his native Brazil.
This is just the latest of a series of badly timed injuries for Neymar, the most significant coming during the 2014 World Cup, when he fractured a vertebrae against Colombia, missing Brazil’s semi-final humiliation against Germany.
Everton forward Richarlison could replace Neymar on the left side of Brazil’s attack, with Gabriel Jesus expected to spearhead the attack.
The 12-team Copa America starts on June 14.
