Paris St-Germain (PSG) forward Neymar went off injured after 12 minutes as Brazil forced a 1-1 draw with Nigeria in a friendly in Singapore on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Neymar, making his 101st appearance for the national team, touched the back of his left thigh as he left the pitch and was replaced by Philippe Coutinho.
He can now be a doubt for his French side’s UEFA Champions League game against Club Bruges on October 22.
There was, however, no immediate word on his condition, even though there were plenty of words to describe the game thereafter as the draw extended Brazil’s winless run to four games.
The Super Eagles took the lead after 35 minutes when Joe Aribo found space in a packed penalty box to rifle in a low shot past Manchester City’s Ederson.
It was the second goal in two international appearances for the Glasgow Rangers player.
Brazil equalised three minutes into the second half when Casemiro fired home from close range, after he was quickest to react when a Marquinhos header came back off the woodwork.
Real Madrid’s Casemiro later smacked a header off the bar and Coutinho should have scored a cut back with five minutes remaining but the score remained at 1-1.
In spite of having 70 per cent possession, Brazil were, however, unable to find a winner to remain winless in this international break after drawing 1-1 with Senegal on Thursday.
Since lifting the Copa America in July, Brazil have also drawn with Colombia and Senegal and lost to Peru.
How They Lined Up
BRAZIL
Ederson
Alves da Silva
Marquinhos
Thiago Silva (yellow, 90th min)
Lodi dos Santos
Gabriel Jesus
(Substituted for Tolentino Coelho de Limaat, 88th min)
Casemiro
Arthur
(Substituted for Fabinho, 80th min)
Sousa Soares
(Substituted for Richarlison, 45th min)
Firmino
(Substituted for Barbosa Almeida, 62nd min)
Neymar
(Substituted for Coutinho, 12th min)
Substitutes
Pereira da Silva
Militão
Lobo Silva
Richarlison
Coutinho
Melo dos Santos Neto
Coquette Russo
de Souza
Fabinho
Tolentino Coelho de Lima
Barbosa Almeida
Almeida de Oliveira
NIGERIA
Uzoho
(Substituted for Okoye, 63rd min)
Awaziem
Troost-Ekong
Ajayi
Collins
Aribo
(Substituted for Shehu, 90+4th min)
Ndidi (yellow, 87th min)
Chukwueze
(Substituted for Olayinka, 89th min)
Iwobi
(Substituted for Azeez, 84th min)
Simon
(Substituted for Dennis, 79th min)
Osimhen
(Substituted for Onuachu, 74th min)
Substitutes
Ezenwa
Esiti
Azeez
Dennis
Shehu
Olayinka
Okoye
Solomon-Otabor
Onuachu
Ebuehi
Referee: Chuan Hui Jansen Foo
Meanwhile, some football enthusiasts have described as commendable the performance of the Super Eagles against Brazil, saying the team showed it can play against the best in the world.
A cross-section of football enthusiasts noted that they saw lots of positives for the Super Eagles from the match.
The Super Eagles had also recorded a 2-2 draw against hosts Ukraine in an international friendly at Dnipro on September 10.
Ex-international Nduka Ugbade said the Super Eagles showed enough for everyone to be excited with what was to come from them.
Ugbade added that with more high-profile friendlies such as this the team could stand tall with the best in the world.
“The exciting young names in action today (Sunday) have once again produced a performance that shows lots of promise for the new era.
“Aribo, the midfielder who was making only in a second appearance for the Eagles, once again caught the eye with his energy, drive and penetrative runs into the opposition penalty box.
“Victor Osimhen also gave a good account of himself and showed he could be Super Eagles’ number 9 for a long time.
“Though he was unable to find the net, he tormented the defence all through his stay on the pitch with his pace, movement and hold-up play.
“Even more exciting was the fact that he was part of a fluid front-four that included Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon,” he said.
Emmanuel Babayaro, also an ex-international, was full of praise for goalkeepers Francis Uzoho and Maduka Okoye, adding that they both put up a strong, competent and world class performance in-between the sticks.
“Uzoho showed excellent agility in cutting out the occasional threats posed by the Brazilians and was also alert to foil several goal-bound attempts.
“It was indeed a shame that he had to leave the scene after twisting his leg as he went for the ball from a Brazil corner kick. I wish him quick recovery.
“His replacement, Okoye, also put in a good shift and was not much troubled as he showed calmness inbetween the sticks for the Eagles.
“I think with what I have seen today, I can confidently say our goalkeeping problems have been almost, if not completely, taken care of,” the former goalkeeper said.
Godwin Bamigboye, the Chairman, Nigeria Football Coaches Association, FCT Chapter, said the result against Brazil would boost the morale of the Eagles to achieve even greater results for the country.
“The boys’ overall performance is worthy of commendation. They indeed proved to the world that they are no push-overs as they started the game with good pace, passion and intensity.
“Uzoho was brilliant in the game. His best in the Super Eagles shirt. But, ultimately, it is the performance of the front-four that has had me excited with what’s to come.
“Chukwueze was also a thorn in the flesh of the Selecao throughout, and created lots of goal-scoring chances for the Eagles.
“Of course, they are far from the finished product. Still very young and raw, and Iwobi, Chukwueze, Moses and Osimhen could make occasional errors against experienced and top opposition.
“But, as they showed against Brazil today (Sunday), they possess the skills and talent to do great things with the Super Eagles.
“As for their inexperience, coach Gernot Rohr has the time to work with them.
“With no major tournament until 2021, the Super Eagles can keep finetuning with good friendly games like the one against Ukraine and Brazil,” he said.
The result was a huge confidence-booster for the Super Eagles, who begin their race to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with qualifying matches against Benin Republic and Lesotho next month.
It was also a huge improvement from Nigeria’s 0-3 defeat to the Selecao in a friendly match in Abuja in June 2003.
