Neymar is out of 2014 Fifa World Cup with back injury

By Tim Vickery, BBC Sport

Brazil forward Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup with a broken bone in his back sustained in theÂ 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia.

He fractured a vertebra in his spine when kneed in the back by Juan Zuniga in a challenge that went unpunished.

Neymar, 22, was in tears when he was carried off on a stretcher before being taken to hospital in Fortaleza.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said: “Neymar was going to be hunted. For three matches that has been happening.”

Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told Brazil’s SportTV: “Unfortunately, he’s not going to be able to play. He is very, very sad.

“It’s not serious in the sense that it doesn’t need surgery, but he’ll need to immobilise it to recover.”

Lasmar added that he expected the recovery period to take at least a few weeks.

Neymar recovered fromÂ thigh and knee injuriesÂ sustained in the second-round win over Chile to play against Colombia.

The Barcelona forward has featured in all five of Brazil’s matches at the 2014 Fifa World Cup and is their top scorer with four goals.