Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian superstar Neymar flew into Rio de Janeiro early Thursday ahead of an operation on his fractured foot that will sideline him for up to three months, casting a long shadow over Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil’s World Cup preparations.
The world’s most expensive player, 26, arrived on an Air France flight and left in a wheelchair. The star smiled and took selfies with passengers, before leaving on a private jet to an undisclosed destination.
Surgery is booked for Saturday, said national team surgeon Rodrigo Lasmar, who will lead the procedure. But despite the hurry to put Neymar’s right foot under the knife at a hospital in Belo Horizonte, he won’t be back on the field soon.
“The (recovery) period will be around two-and-a- half to three months,” Lasmar told journalists after arriving with the player on the same flight.
“It’s not a simple fracture, but a fracture in an important bone in the middle of the foot,” Lasmar said.
The injury threatens the much fancied Brazilian side’s build-up to the World Cup, which starts in Russia on June 14.
