Neymar makes injury confession after dream World Cup return

Brazil forward Neymar has admitted that he thought his World Cup dream was over because of injury.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward suffered an ankle problem in the Selecao's opener against Serbia and did not feature for the remainder of the group stage, while there were doubts over whether he would be able to return on Monday for the last 16.

But he made a triumphant return to the side on Monday night to help Brazil drubbed South Korea 4-1 at Stadium 974, walking away with a goal and an assist to set up a quarter-final tie with Croatia.

After the game, Neymar confessed he was scared he wouldn't return at all this winter and assured fans that he is feeling as healthy as ever.

“I didn’t feel any pain in my ankle and my performance was very good, so I am happy,” he told reporters.

“When I got injured I had a very difficult night and I was thinking of a million different things. I was afraid of not being able to play in this World Cup again.

“But I have the support of all of my team-mates and my family and I tried to find strength where I could find it, and all the messages I received throughout my recovery were very good for me.” 

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Neymar was also named the man of the match for his efforts but he was keen to deflect the attention away from himself and towards the team as a unit.

“Being called the man of the man is somewhat difficult because everyone played well," he said.

“We need to commend all the players. We wanted to move to the next round and that’s what we did, the fans are having a wonderful party and we need to thank them.”