Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned. (More Football News)
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one𓃲 of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the cl♕ub before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
Th𒁃e 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and🎃 he remains some way away from a return.
🐠Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of🐻 him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaig🎐n before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told r🦩꧑eporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to whe🤪n he will return, but we will look at the situation in January🌞."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Ney𒀰mar could, in theory, play in that 💦competition if he returns to fitness before January.
