Neymar Jr.'s comeback lasted just 34 minutes before another cruel injury struck during Santos' Brasileirão match—a devastating blow confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.

“Neymar Jr leaves the pitch with a new injury as Santos started him tonight in the Brasileirão. After 34 minutes, Neymar has been subbed off,” Romano tweeted on Wednesday.

Neymar's nightmare continues: The 33-year-old's injury-plagued career hits another devastating low after his Santos return lasted just 34 minutes—marking yet another setback following January's abrupt exit from Al-Hilal, where his big-money Saudi move (August 2023) also crumbled under recurring fitness woes.

His $104M per year Al−Hilal move yielded just seven injury wrecked appearances before his Santos return. 

Despite his injury woes since 2023, including just seven Al-Hilal appearances and a 34-minute Santos collapse—Neymar vows to fight for 2026 World Cup glory, betting against his own battered body and time.

“I know this will be my last World Cup, my last shot, my last chance and I will do everything I can to play in it,” he said to CNN in January.

The 32-year-old, who is Brazil's all-time top scorer with 79 goals, has seen his career hampered by persistent fitness issues in recent years. 

Neymar's career arc follows football's classic rise-and-fall narrative. The Brazilian superstar first achieved global prominence as part of Barcelona's legendary MSN trio with Messi and Suárez, before securing a world-record €222 million transfer to PSG in 2017. 

While in Paris, he collected five Ligue 1 titles and spearheaded their 2020 Champions League final run. However, his PSG tenure gradually unraveled due to persistent injury problems and reported locker room tensions, culminating in his 2023 move to Al-Hilal. Now back at boyhood club Santos, the 32-year-old faces perhaps his greatest challenge: overcoming his fragile physical condition to reclaim his status as one of football's elite players.