Ever since bursting onto the scene as a tricky, baby-faced Brazilian, Neymar has been widely considered one of the best players on the planet.

His weekly masterclasses in the Brazilian league for Santos drew him to the attention to pretty much every top club in Europe. 

Eventually, he opted for a move to Barcelona, where he would fulfill the potential we all knew he had - and then some. 

After years in the shadow of Lionel Messi - as would be the case for pretty much any player other than Messi himself - Neymar chose to tackle a new challenge in the form of a move to PSG.

Since then, he has formed yet another formidable attacking trio alongside the likes of Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.

Having played an instrumental part in the side's unbeaten run in Ligue 1 so far, the Brazilian limped off the field in tears against Strasbourg on Wednesday night - and it's not looking good for the 26-year-old.

A club statement later read: "Initial examinations have revealed a painful recurrence of his injury to the fifth metatarsal of his right foot.

"The treatment of this injury will depend on how it evolves over the next few days. All options can be envisaged at this time."

Neymar was nearly forced out of last summer's World Cup due to an injury in the same part of his right foot. Now, the forward is likely to miss the first of PSG's Champions League matches against Manchester United on February 12.

The injury has spawned a hearty response from the footballing world, many drawing attention to Neymar's tendencies of going down too easily.

Even Pele has come out and described this aspect of Neymar's game as "difficult to defend".

However, in the wake of these criticisms, Neymar's father took to Instagram in a passionate response.

Per Goal.com, he said: "Can we not dribble? We do not have the right to have talent? He gets carried away!

"He believes that some in the press purposely insist on these facts to sell issues.

"As always, life goes on, football too, and service geeks, who call themselves football experts, will continue to hold polls asking if 'Neymar deserves to be sanctioned'.

"Be ready because, as always, he will come back stronger!"

What do you think about Neymar Sr's response? Let us know in the comments.