Brazil's star Neymar recovers from injury

By Diana Renee, dpa

Neymar has recovered from injury and is expected to take part in the World Cup quarter-final match against Colombia, team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said Tuesday.

Runco said the Barcelona striker would train with the team Wednesday.

Neymar had "a very good recovery" after two days of treatment with anti-inflammatory medication and physiotherapy, Runco said.

Neymar appeared to have trouble getting off the team bus and limped in video footage released by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) that showed the squad arriving Monday at their headquarters in Teresopolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had said after Saturday's game against Chile, which the hosts won in a penalty shootout, that Neymar had played a large part of the match with a thigh problem and that his thigh was "very swollen."

The Barcelona forward was then seen cycling and walking without any noticeable problem.

Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw against Chile before winning the match on penalties and the game on Friday against Colombia is expected to be equally tough for the hosts.

Brazil players poured praise on Colombia's rising star James Rodriguez, comparing him to Neymar.

"He is Colombia's superstar, we will need to keep an eye on him, just like the Colombians will keep an eye on Neymar," said Chelsea midfielder Ramires. "If he scored five goals and commanded Colombia, we will need to watch out for him."

Ramires said he had followed Monaco playmaker Rodriguez since the Colombian played at Porto.

"I could see his quality, and now he is playing an excellent World Cup," he said.

Brazil's reserve keeper Victor also noted that Rodriguez is a decisive player.

"We cannot give him space," Victor said. "We will need to mark him, reduce spaces, we cannot give him one millimetre. We will need to watch out for him, but also for the other players who make the ball get to him."

The two players agreed that Friday's clash against Colombia will be tough for Brazil.

"The Colombian team has great technical ability, they play at high speed and they are going through an excellent time," Victor said.

He added: "I am sure it will be a very difficult match, because this is a team that has been playing together for a long time and they came second in the South American qualifiers."

Ramires noted that there were no easy games in the tournament, pointing to Germany's extra-time win against in the round of 16 Monday.

"Algeria could have won the match over 90 minutes, because they played very well, but in the end they lost in extra time, because football is like that," he said.

"We need to watch out and respect our rivals," he added. "We are not going to win matches just because we are the Brazilian national team."