The star striker, who has been on the sidelines since fracturing his right leg against FC Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, is set to miss the rest of the season after breaking his ankle in the second leg of the first-leg tie against Malaga.
Neymar is expected to miss two to four weeks.
The 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Barcelona’s La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but Barcelona insist the player is focused on the club and is focused solely on helping them win the league.
The Barcelona boss, Ernesto Valverde, has been adamant that the star will not leave the Nou Camp for a club in the same league as Barcelona.
The forward has been at the heart of Barcelona’s Champions League success, scoring 14 goals in 19 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The club have lost four consecutive games to Malaga in the semi-finals, which are being played at the Camp Nou.
But the result was not a fluke as Neymar’s goal on Saturday, scored by the forward’s compatriot Neymar Caceres, was his fourth in as many games in the competition.
The Catalan side were without two of their top four goal scorers, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique, who both suffered leg injuries in the opening stages of the match.
Pique was ruled out of the Champions League match with a hamstring injury while Busquet has been out with a knee problem.
“We are confident Neymar will be available for the final match of the round-of-16 campaign,” said Barcelona’s sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta.
“The coach knows that he is a player who wants to play every single day, but at the same time he is very focused on his personal fitness.”
The Barcelona coach has been confident in the midfielder’s fitness following his rehabilitation from his injury.
“He has recovered a lot of the fitness in the last few days,” he said.
“There was a lot that needed to be done to get the right level of training but it’s all been done.”
Now we will see how he feels after the match against Malgados, but the coach is happy with the result.
