Tite delivers huge Neymar boost for South Korea clash

Brazil have been handed a major boost ahead of their World Cup round of 16 clash with South Korea, after head coach Tite announced Neymar would be back in the squad for the match.

The 30-year-old forward limped out of Brazil’s opening game against Serbia and was unable to take part in either of the Selecao’s following two group matches.

Neymar went on to post a picture of his dramatically swollen foot on social media, heightening fears that he might not be able to return before the conclusion of the World Cup.

Brazil have since lost multiple other players to injury, with Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus out of the competition entirely while stars such as Antony remain doubtful for upcoming games.

However, Tite has provided Brazil supporters with reason to be cheerful after confirming that Neymar would be available for selection in Monday’s match.

The condition of Neymar was the first question posed to Tite in his pre-match press conference on Sunday, and the manager smiled broadly as he announced that the Paris Saint-Germain attacker would indeed be fit for selection on Monday.

He added: “Neymar will train today in the afternoon and if he trains well he will play.”

While Brazil can still call on the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Richarlison to lead the line, the return of their talisman in Neymar will provide a major morale boost as they seek to lift the World Cup for the first time since 2002.

Neymar is just two goals shy of matching Pele’s goal record for Brazil and will fancy his chances of becoming his nation’s all-time record goalscorer before the tournament is out if he can make it back into contention in time.