Brazil's Neymar fit in time and raring to go

Neymar, who suffered a broken metatarsal in February, has allayed the fears in the Brazil camp by making a quick return from injury.

In February, Neymar Jr.'s dream of captaining Brazil in the World Cup had seemed to have ended even before a ball was kicked. The Paris Saint-Germain forward suffered a fractured metatarsal on his right foot in a Ligue 1 match against Marseille. Neymar broke into tears as he was carried out on a stretcher.

On the advice of Brazil's team doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, the world's most expensive player went under the knife in March. Lasmar circled in a return date of May 17 based on his rehabilitation process.

After his successful return to training, Neymar came off the bench to score a sublime goal against Croatia last week. He dribbled past three defenders before thumping the ball into the net off the crossbar.

"I still have some fear, a certain fear, but little by little, with each training session, I'm letting myself go."

Coach Tite claimed after the match that his star forward was only '80%' ready for the showpiece event in Russia and Neymar agreed with his assessment.

"It has been three months since the injury," Neymar told reporters.

"To be back to do what I love the most, which is to play football, and even score a goal... I'm very happy.

"But I still have some fear, a certain fear, but little by little, with each training session, I'm letting myself go."

It is worth remembering that Neymar, who had a huge impact in Brazil's run to the semifinals in the 2014 edition on home soil, was forced to miss the 7-1 hammering against Germany due to a back injury.

Slated for his first start in three months in the final friendly against Austria on Sunday, Neymar's World Cup dream is back on track again.