Neymar limps out of Brazil training ahead of Copa America

Posted Wednesday, May 29, 2019 by Skysports.com

Brazil have been given an injury scare ahead of the Copa America after star forward Neymar limped out of training on Tuesday, having appeared to damage his left knee.

The incident came just a day after the Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed that Neymar had been stripped of the national team's captaincy, with his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Dani Alves taking over.

The 27-year-old appeared to suffer the injury as he attempted a shot under close attention from another of his club team-mates, defender Thiago Silva.

Neymar limps out of Brazil training ahead of Copa America
Neymar was stripped of the Brazil captaincy a day earlier following a series of disciplinary issues

Brazil are seeking to win a first major trophy since lifting the Copa America in 2007, and will face heightened expectations as they host the competition for the first time since 1989.

They have been drawn alongside Venezeula, Peru and Bolivia, who they will open the tournament against on June 14 in Sao Paulo, but will first face Qatar and Honduras in warm-up fixtures.

The injury capped a tough 48 hours for Neymar, who was understood to have lost the captaincy largely due to disciplinary issues.

The former Barcelona forward was banned for three matches by the French football authorities earlier this month for hitting a fan after PSG's cup final loss to Stade Rennes, and was also reportedly involved in a dressing-room fracas with his team-mates.