Neymar picks up another injury in second game back from ACL tear

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Neymar picked up another injury on Monday in just his second game since returning from a 12-month absence as Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal defeated Esteghlal of Iran 3-0 in the AFC Champions League Elite.

The Brazilian has only recently recovered from a torn ACL and came off the bench in Riyadh after 58 minutes. However, the 32 year-old forward had to come off with three minutes remaining, having seemed to pull up after stretching his leg out for the ball in the penalty area.

Neymar has time to recover before his next game, however, as he is not registered for the team’s matches in the Saudi Pro League and the next fixture in the AFC competition is on Nov. 25.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a hat trick for Al-Hilal, the four-time Asian champion which has now won all four games in the group stage.

All three goals from the Serbian came from close range. He opened the scoring after 15 minutes, added a second just after the half-hour mark and then completed his hat trick with 16 minutes remaining.