Neymar has admitted he feared his World Cup was over after spraining his ankle in the opening match against Serbia.

The 30-year-old then missed the rest of the group stages as the five-time winners made it into the Round of 16.

But he made his return on Monday night, as the Selecao outclassed South Korea 4-1 to earn a quarter-final date with Croatia on Friday.

Neymar also found the back of the net, with a penalty that moved him one goal behind Pele’s international record of 77 and paid tribute to the Brazil medical staff.

“When I got injured, I had a very difficult night.”

“I was thinking of a million different things and I was afraid I might not be able to play in this World Cup again, but I had the support of all my colleagues, my family and I tried to look for strength where I could not find it. When I was reading all of the messages of encouragement, it helped my recovery.” Neymar said afterwards.”