Brazil eventually cruised to victory in their opening game at the 2022 World Cup.

The Selecao did battle with dark horses Serbia at the Lusail Stadium and came away with a 2-0 victory.

Two goals from Richarlison secured the three points for Tite’s star-studded outfit, who certainly turned on the style in the second half.

Read more: Brazil's Richarlison scores stunning World Cup goal vs Serbia

Overall, it was a solid performance from the tournament favourites, although there was one potential negative from the match.

In fact, it could be a negative that derails their World Cup campaign somewhat.

During the second half, Neymar was substituted with a suspected injury, but it didn't look to be too serious at first.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar walked off the field of play and at first glance, the change appeared to be simply a precautionary measure.

GiveMeSport World Cup 2022 promo image featuring Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi

But exclusive footage from Brazilian outlet Globo shows that Neymar was very, very emotional while having his ankle treated by the medical staff on the bench.

For fans of the South American nation and the Brazil squad as a whole, they're images that will send shivers down the spine...

Video: Neymar was in serious pain after picking up injury vs Serbia

Oh dear, it does not look good at all from Neymar and those scenes on the Brazil bench are ones no true football fan wants to see.

We can only hope that it was simply an impact injury and he'll make a full recovery as soon as possible.

Because a Qatar World Cup without Neymar is simply not the same spectacle.

The former Barcelona man has been plagued by injuries in recent years (ankle ones in particular) and it would be so, so cruel for his last tournament to end in such heartbreaking fashion.

How did Neymar pick up the injury?

Neymar's knock to his ankle came about from a rather rough tackle by Fiorentina centre-back, Nikola Milenkovic.

The Brazilian's ankle appeared to buckle under the weight of the challenge and a still photo of the moment of impact is certainly worrying.

Neymar's injury vs Serbia

Neymar's injury vs Serbia

Ouch.

Another image captured by Globo shows Neymar's bare ankle looking very swollen, which is of course a huge concern.

Neymar's swollen ankle

Neymar's swollen ankle

The footballing world will now be nervously waiting for updates from Brazil on Neymar and praying for positive news.

As we're sure you'll remember, Neymar's 2014 World Cup campaign was tragically ended by injury.

He picked up a serious back issue in the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Colombia after a late clash with Juan Zuniga.

Quiz: Can you name all 30 of these 'streets won't forget' players from World Cups?


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