Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus and Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal have reacted to the news that Neymar Jr. has suffered a serious injury.
The Arsenal and Tottenham duo were present when Neymar was stretched off in tears during Brazil’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in their World Cup qualifier.
Gabriel Jesus started the game, whilst Emerson Royal was an unused substitute, with Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez causing their South American rivals all sorts of problems and getting praised by Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde after the match.
Either way, the Arsenal man was gutted when Neymar’s domestic club, Al-Hilal, posted on Twitter that their big-money summer capture has suffered ‘a tear in the cruciate ligament and cartilage’.
Gabriel Jesus posted, via his own Instagram story, that his fellow countryman will ‘come back stronger’ from this moment, whilst Emerson Royal told him that he is a ‘warrior’.
At the age of 31, this isn’t great news for Neymar and it probably means he will miss Copa America next summer, unless he makes a remarkable recovery before then.
Jesus and Royal react to Neymar’s injury
“God bless your life, brother,” wrote Jesus. “May it be a time of reflection in your life, and may you come back even stronger.”
Emerson Royal added on Neymar’s Instagram: “You are a warrior. God will bless you a lot in this recovery.”
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Neymar’s chances of winning a major tournament with Brazil
Some may point towards Neymar’s age and how playing in the Saudi Pro League has opened the door which states his career is now heading back down.
But a highly technical player, who has won the lot on the domestic and European stage, that all-important trophy with Brazil is missing.
That was a question mark even labelled at someone like Lionel Messi, but he shut up the last of his critics by winning the biggest prize of them all with Argentina in Qatar.
With the Copa America around the corner, it was Neymar’s chance to prove his worth and answer those very harsh critics in his homeland.
His problem now is that, by the time the next major tournament comes about, he is going to be 34 and past the peak of his powers if he isn’t already.
