SAINT PETERSBURG, June 21 (AFP): A battered and bruised Neymar will aim to get Brazil's World Cup campaign back on track here Friday as the pre-tournament favourites seek to re-assert their title credentials with victory over Costa Rica.
Neymar was given a rough ride in Brazil's disappointing 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Sunday, fouled 10 times during the match, the most for any player in a single World Cup game for 20 years.
The world's most expensive player then set alarm bells ringing when he hobbled out of training on Tuesday in full view of the cameras. However, he returned to the training pitch 48 hours ahead of the clash in Saint Petersburg, raising hopes he will feature.
Even before his latest setback, there were doubts over Neymar's fitness heading into the World Cup after a three-month layoff.
The Switzerland clash was his first competitive game for nearly four months after a broken bone in his right foot ended his club season with Paris Saint-Germain in February.
Meanwhile, Serbia will attempt to wrap up qualification to the World Cup knockout rounds on Friday as they take on a Switzerland team brimming with confidence after grabbing a draw with Brazil.
The Serbs control their own destiny in Group E after an opening 1-0 win against Costa Rica on Sunday, which came courtesy of a stunning Aleksandar Kolarov free-kick. Victory over Switzerland in Kaliningrad on Friday would guarantee Serbia a place in the last 16, regardless of whether they win or lose their final group game with Brazil next week.
Roma star Kolarov acknowledged that Serbia are in a strong position to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time since they competed alongside Montenegro in 1998.
In another game, Nigeria take on Iceland on Friday, seeking to salvage their faltering World Cup campaign but wary of the Nordic team's capacity to go toe to toe with their supposed superiors.
Coach Gernot Rohr's Super Eagles -- who brought the youngest squad to Russia, with an average age of around 25 years of age -- have now won just one of their past 13 games at World Cups.
Nigeria reached the knockout phase at the 2014 World Cup, but slipped to a 2-0 defeat in their Group D opener against Croatia in Kaliningrad, courtesy of an Oghenekaro Etebo own-goal and a Luka Modric penalty.
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