Neymar suffers fresh injury setback in Santos return

Neymar's injury troubles resurfaced on Wednesday as he limped off just 30 minutes into Santos' match against Atlético Mineiro with a suspected hamstring problem.

The 33-year-old was visibly emotional before being stretchered off at Vila Belmiro, replaced in the 34th minute with Santos 2-0 up.

It was Neymar's first start since a left thigh issue ruled him out of Brazil's March fixtures and Santos' Paulista semi-final defeat to Corinthians. That injury followed a lengthy layoff from an ACL and meniscus tear suffered in October 2023.

Having rejoined Santos in January as a free agent after cutting ties with Al Hilal -- where he played just seven times in 18 months due to persistent injuries -- questions will now mount over whether the forward was rushed back too soon.