By Henry Okoduwa
Every profession has its own hazards. For footballers, it is injuries. Injuries, to a great extent, determines the longevity of a player in football. A player who repeatedly gets injured is more likely to retire quicker than one who seldom does.
This invariably also affects the fortunes of such players. They may find out that, at the time they are forced out of the game through persistent injuries, they weren't able to fulfill the great potentials that made clubs sign them in the first place.
The foregoing aptly describes the life of a certain Neymar (real names, Neymar da Silva Santos Jr.), the Brazilian prodigy who was once compared with the legendary Arantes Do Nascimento (Pele) on account of his talent, skills and abilities.
From the moment he joined Brazilian top club, Santos in 2009, up to the time he played for Paris St Germain, he was seen as the next big thing after the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And he did really, on a few occasions, tried to live up to the hype by posting performances that accentuated such widely held beliefs that he was going to reign on the world stage as a king of the sport for many years.
However, 14 years down the line, it is clear that Neymar may no longer reach such heights. At 31, and with retirement starring him in the face, hopes of adding another UEFA Champions League title to the one he won with FC Barcelona, or winning the Copa America and the FIFA World Cup are fast fading.
And it hasn't been for want of trying, though. To be fair, Neymar has done his best to really prove his mettle in all of the time he has been projected so positively. But injuries have wreaked so much havoc in his career.
Injuries stopped him from attending two Copa America Championships in 2015 and 2019. He still smarts from missing the 2019 edition that Brazil won, while no one knows what might have happened if he was in the 2015 squad.
A year before that, at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup on home soil, Neymar was in his best form as he was the talisman conjuring the magic for his country until his progress was brutally halted in their game against Colombia in the semi finals.
Kneed in the back by Juan Camilo Zuniga, Neymar sustained a fractured vertebra and had to be stretchered out of the match, and straight to hospital.
Brazil did end up winning the game by the skin of their teeth but the damage had already been done as events would later prove.
His absence and that of defender, Thiago Silva was clearly missed as Brazil could not withstand a red-hot Germany who dismantled them 7-1 to book a finals ticket in style.
Many still think that Neymar probably missed his best chance of winning the World Cup at that particular edition hosted by his country.
He has had many more injury plagued seasons after that both at club and country levels. This has really limited his chances of reaching the levels his talents clearly deserved.
At the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Neymar could only manage 79 minutes for Brazil in their game against Serbia. They managed to win 2-0 but he would play no more part in the remaining group games before managing to return for their quarter-final game against Croatia where they were eventually eliminated 4-2 on penalties after full time and extra time scores stood at 1-1.
His off and on injuries saga also affected him at PSG where he was expected to help them achieve great things, particularly winning the UEFA Champions League -- a trophy that had often eluded them.
It is no secret that the real reason the Parisians splashed a record €222million to snap him up from the grips of Barcelona in 2017 was for him to help them win the Champions League.
But season after season after that, it was either he was down with injuries or failing to replicate the form that helped him achieve so much with former clubs, Santos and Barcelona.
It was therefore no wonder that he was finally allowed to leave the club to join Saudi Pro League side, Al-Hilal this summer for another mouthwatering sum.
But for all the hype that greeted his arrival, the Saudi club are yet to reap any meaningful dividends as Neymar is yet to score for them.
On top of that, they are faced with the prospects not having him at all, for perhaps, the remaining part of the season as his recent injury while representing his country against Paraguay in a recent World Cup qualifier in Montevideo is set to rule him out for the rest of the season.
In the light of his persistent injury problems, it might be hard for Neymar to prove himself or even convince potential suitors in future of his durability -- a key factor always considered when evaluating the worth of players. And the fact that age is no longer on his side, makes the odds heavily stacked against him.
Can Neymar get one more chance to redeem himself?
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