
Brazil star Neymar suffered a broken vertebra in Brazil's quarterfinal win over Colombia on Friday, and has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2014 World Cup.
Update: Neymar out of the World Cup
Brazil will be sweating while they wait for a fitness update on Neymar, their national star who went down injured against Colombia. After suffering a foul from Juan Zuniga late in the second half, he was unable to leave the match under his own power and was replaced by Henrique.
Match Recap ![]()
It wasn't entirely clear what Neymar injured, though the challenge from Zuniga did feature a nasty knee to Neymar's back, and the physio staff was careful about getting him onto the stretcher, so a back injury looks like the most likely problem at present.
If Neymar isn't available for the semifinal game against Germany, it'll be a huge blow for Brazil. They have plenty of attacking talent, but Neymar is the centerpiece of the team. Both Willian and Bernard are capable of playing his role, though there's clearly a drop-off. Hopefully, his removal from the game was just precautionary, but he appeared to be in a lot of pain.