Neymar returned to action with PSG, 165 days after his last appearance. He was away from the pitch for almost six months in what has been the longest period without playing since his arrival at Paris Saint-Germain. His triumphant return was crowned with two goals against South Korea’s Jeonbuk, precisely in that Asian country.
On February 19, 2023, Neymar was injured in the match his team faced against Lille. After a rival tackle, the Brazilian set off all the alarms at PSG when he couldn’t get up and left the game on a stretcher. The injury was in the right ankle and he had to undergo surgery.
It was known that he would lose, at least, all that remained of the 2022-23 season, and so it was. He returned to training until the current preseason and returned to the headline today to respond with a brace in a 3-0 win in Busan, South Korea.
165 days passed, the longest recovery of his career. Previously, the longest period he had spent off the pitch with PSG was 90 days, from February to May 2018 due to a metatarsal fracture. On that occasion the striker missed 16 games with the Parisians.
Injuries to the thigh, ribs, groins and, above all, to the ankle, are what have plagued Neymar during his time at PSG. He has already missed 119 games and has spent 741 days of competition away from the pitch, that is, more than two years.
