Neymar Injury: Updates on Barcelona Star's Ankle and Return

Updates from Wednesday, Sept. 24

Barcelona officially confirmed on Wednesday that Neymar is in the squad for their La Liga clash with Malaga.

A statement on the club's official website read:

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Luis Enrique has named a 19-man squad for the game against Malaga this evening, with Neymar and Rakitic both fit and included after picking up knocks in the game against Levante. B team youngsters Munir  and Sandro are again in the squad.

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Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 23

Neymar is fit for Barcelona's Wednesday trip to Malaga after taking part in training on Tuesday.

Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC provides the latest from Luis Enrique:

Updates from Monday, Sept. 22

Barcelona described Neymar's ankle knock as a "minor injury" in Monday's official update following their 5-0 win at Levante.

Neymar had to come off due to the injury, but the following statement appears to suggest he will not be sidelined for long:

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Neymar and Rakitic both did specific exercises on Monday morning after picking up minor injuries against Levante. The former is having trouble with his left ankle and the Croatian international has bruising on his left foot. The club doctors will be keeping an eye on their progress, and will decide when they are ready to re-join normal training sessions.

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Original Text

Just when the 2014/15 season looked like it was turning around for Neymar, the Brazilian may be headed right back to the bench after suffering another injury.

According to ESPN's Dermot Corrigan and Barcastuff, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique confirmed that Neymar suffered an ankle injury against Levante: 

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Luis Enrique: "Neymar has twisted his ankle, nothing bad. Alba had a small problem at his foot, but nothing bad either." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) September 21, 2014"

The 22-year-old returned to the pitch in August after fracturing his vertebrae at the 2014 World Cup in the quarterfinal against Colombia. It was a devastating injury at the time because he missed out on the semifinal against Germany, but in terms of his club career, the fracture did little to stunt his development.

After moving from Santos last summer, Neymar had a much better debut campaign in Europe than many expected. There was always bound to be a learning curve, especially when trying to pick up a system as intricate as Barcelona's, but Neymar hit the ground running and became one of the club's better attackers.

With that bedding-in period done, this year looked to be when Neymar would transition from very talented player to Ballon d'Or-level star. This most recent injury is undoubtedly a bump in the road toward that goal.

It's a testament to the depth of Barcelona's attack that missing the dynamic winger will only be an inconvenience rather than a tactical nightmare for Enrique. As long as Lionel Messi's healthy, Barca shouldn't be in too tough a spot. Plus, Luis Suarez will return from his suspension at the end of October. 

Losing Neymar is a blow, but it shouldn't have a seriously adverse effect on Barcelona's La Liga campaign.