The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain attacker had not played since rupturing his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while on international duty in October last year.

"Happy to be back in the group," Neymar posted on Instagram, with pictures of him running and kicking the ball, watched by Al Hilal's Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus.

Brazil coach Dorival Junior called for Neymar to be given as much time as he needs to make a complete recovery from a knee injury that has sidelined him for almost a year.

Neymar is set to miss the start of the next Saudi Pro League season as he recovers from a serious knee injury, Al Hilal's coach said Tuesday.

The country of Pele, Garrincha and Ronaldinho, which once wowed the world with its 'samba' style, has not won the World Cup since 2002. Nor has it produced a Ballon d'Or winner since Kaka in 2007.

Jorge Jesus' side, top of the Saudi league and still alive in the King's Cup and Asian Champions league, are bidding for a quadruple of trophies this season.

A Brazilian court has suspended a $3 million fine imposed on soccer star Neymar last year for building a lake at his mansion on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro without an environmental license.

According to UOL, Neymar has informed those at Santos that he will be rejoining their ranks when his deal in the Middle East expires

Alves, 40, was jailed for four and a half years on Thursday after being found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.

The French finance and economy ministry was searched earlier this week as part of a probe into the 2017 transfer of Brazil football superstar Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, a source said to AFP on Thursday.

“Brazil have to learn to move forward without Neymar because he is injured,” Dorival said yesterday

Brazil's top scorer underwent surgery last month after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee on international duty in October.

Despite losing the country's top scorer, Diniz is not expecting a new hero to emerge in a young team brimming with talent set to face Colombia on Friday, 6am Bangladesh Time, and world champions Argentina on Wednesday (6.30am, Bangladesh Time).

Seventeen-year-old rising star Endrick, hailed as one of Brazilian football's great hopes, got his first call-up for national team duty Monday as coach Fernando Diniz seeks to replace injured star Neymar.

Neymar will undergo surgery for the injuries at a "yet-to-be-determined date," the CBF said, after a series of medical exams on the player in Sao Paulo.

Nunez opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a diving header, and Brazil's night went from bad to worse two minutes later when Neymar went down after tussling for the ball with De la Cruz.

The 31-year-old went down after a tackle from behind by Nicolas de la Cruz in the 44th minute, holding his left leg in pain and calling for medical attention as his team mates looked on anxiously.

Diniz took temporary charge of Brazil when Tite left the role following their quarter-final exit at the World Cup in Qatar and will be replaced by Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti next year

The former Paris Saint-Germain forward, signed in August for a reported 90 million euros ($94 million), grabbed the second in the record Asian champions' win at the Azadi Stadium

Neymar, signed last month from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported €90 million, was making his first start for the record Asian champions having debuted on Friday as a substitute in the Saudi Pro League victory at home to Al Riyadh.