Neymar sidelined for up to 3 months after undergoing surgery

Brazilian superstar Neymar will be sidelined for up to three months -- perilously close to the eve of the World Cup -- after undergoing surgery on his broken foot, his doctor said Thursday.

The worse than previously announced prognosis came as the Paris Saint-Germain striker, 26, arrived in Rio de Janeiro on an Air France flight from Paris for Saturday's operation.

"The (recovery) period will be around two and a half to three months," national team surgeon Rodrigo Lasmar, who flew with Neymar, said.
The injury has not only ruled the world's most expensive player out of PSG's make-or-break Champions League clash with Real Madrid on March 6, but more worryingly for the football-mad public in Brazil, also threatens the much-fancied national side's build-up to the World Cup, starting in Russia on June 14.
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Lasmar, who will lead the surgery at a hospital in Belo Horizonte, underlined that there is no quick fix for the striker.

"It's not a simple fracture, but a fracture in an important bone in the middle of the foot," Lasmar said.

Dressed in a black hoodie, a black baseball cap and wearing sunglasses, Neymar left the plane in a wheelchair. He smiled and took selfies with other passengers, before leaving on a private jet to an undisclosed destination.

The initial assessment did not appear quite as serious on Sunday, when Neymar was reported to have suffered a hairline fracture of the fifth metatarsal, as well as a twisted ankle late in PSG's 3-0 win over Marseille in Ligue 1. Neymar's father had predicted "at least six weeks" out, while PSG coach Unai Emery even said there remained a "small chance" of getting him back in time to face Real.

Even if Neymar gets back in time, he appears sure to miss two warm-up friendlies against Russia and Germany in March.