Brazil’s World Cup hopes have been rocked with the news that Neymar has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament after a serious back injury. The striker’s arrival at the hospital in Fortaleza was met by large numbers of Brazilian fans. The Selecao themselves were accused of rough-house tactics in their win over Colombia but David Luiz won back some admirers telling James Rodriguez in a post-match interview “You are already a world champion.”
Flown back to Rio de Janeiro, and sitting in a wheel-chair, Neymar was comforted by teammates as he begins his recuperation.
Meanwhile, David Luiz, scorer of a sensational second goal for Brazil, joined the player of the tournament so far and top scorer Rodriguez in front of the cameras and said:
‘It’s not only the ones with the trophies who are the great champions.”
“James has been brilliant, making great plays, scoring great goals, and he can leave here with his head held high, because he’s already a World Champion for everything he’s done at this World Cup.”
Rodriguez thanked Luiz, saying:
“Players like him, and Dani Alves, coming to talk to me, that made me very happy, so personally, thank you.”
(Translation: Paul Morrissey via 101greatgoals)