Barca satisfied with Neymar recovery

Barcelona doctors are satisfied with Neymar’s recovery from the serious back injury he picked up at the World Cup.

The Brazil international sustained a fractured vertebra in his country’s quarter-final win over Colombia after a robust challenge from Juan Camilo Zuniga.

With initial projections suggesting Neymar could miss up to six weeks of action, the forward was considered a doubt for Barcelona’s La Liga opener against Elche on August 23.

Club doctors have now performed a check-up on the 22-year-old and are pleased at how his rehabilitation is progressing.

However, they stopped short of confirming a date for any potential return to training or first-team football.

“Neymar underwent a check up on his back injury at the club this morning, with the club doctors expressing their satisfaction with his recovery which will continue with a specific training programme,” read a Barca statement on Tuesday.

“His recovery will be monitored before a decision is made on a full return to training.”

Neymar scored 15 goals in all competitions in his debut season at Barca following his switch from Santos.