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Brazil match-winner Richarlison has revealed he called up Neymar after Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Serbia to tell the Paris Saint-Germain forward to “put a lot of ice” on his ankle injury.
Pre-tournament favourites Brazil got their 2022 World Cup campaign up and running with a win over Serbia which saw Richarlison score twice.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward opened the scoring with a scrappy rebound and then turned on the style moments later, firing home an acrobatic right-foot finish to make sure of the three points.
Brazil’s win was overshadowed by an injury to Neymar, however. The 30-year-old sprained his ankle after being repeatedly fouled throughout the game.
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Richarlison was interviewed after the match and revealed that he had called up his team-mate to offer some advice on how to manage the injury.
“I was trying to go to the doping control but I was able to call Ney(mar) to see how he is,” he said. “I told him to put a lot of ice on it, to recover as quickly as possible. I think that’s the most important thing.
“When I get to the hotel I am going to go and see how he is doing.”
Brazil’s national team doctor confirmed after the match that Neymar had sustained a sprained ankle, although Tite, the manager, said he believed the 30-year-old would play again in Qatar.
Brazil’s doctor said: “Neymar has a sprain on the right ankle. We started treatment immediately but we need to wait 24 hours to have a better assessment.
“We have nothing else scheduled. Now we need to wait and we cannot make any premature comments.”
Tite later added: “We are confident that Neymar will continue playing, that he will continue playing in the World Cup.”
Richarlison’s second goal was the highlight of the match in Qatar and the Spurs player said the strike “was one of the nicest” of his career.
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He said: “I think it was a beautiful goal. I’ve already scored a goal like that for Fluminense and Everton. Today I had the opportunity to score an acrobatic goal, possibly one of the nicest goals of my career.
“It was a tough match so I think it was one of the nicest of my career.”
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(Photo: Getty Images)
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