Neymar plays down injury concern in 2nd game back

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov 05 (Agencies): Neymar picked up another injury on Monday in just his second game since returning from a 12-month absence as Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal defeated Esteghlal of Iran 3-0 in the AFC Champions League Elite.

The Brazilian has only recently recovered from a torn ACL and came off the bench in Riyadh after 58 minutes. However, the 32 year-old forward had to come off with three minutes remaining, having seemed to pull up after stretching his leg out for the ball in the penalty area.

Neymar was not too downcast after being forced to leave Asian Champions League Elite match due to injury with the Al-Hilal forward saying he felt the issue was nothing more than a strong cramp.

The Brazilian, who limped off 30 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute in Al-Hilal's 3-0 win over Esteghlal, said doctors had warned him about the potential for muscle issues following his return from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

The 32-year-old returned to action two weeks ago, having been out since Brazil's CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in October last year when he suffered the injury.

"It felt like a cramp, only very strong!" Neymar posted on Instagram. "I'm going to have some tests and I hope it's nothing too serious. "It's normal for this to happen after a year, the doctors had already warned me, so I have to be careful and play more minutes."

Neymar has played only seven games for Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal since moving from Paris St Germain for a reported fee of around 90 million euros ($97.90 million) in August last year.