Doctor: 'Telling Neymar about injury was hard'

Brazil's team doctor had admitted that it was "hard" to tell Neymar that he would miss the rest of the World Cup after injuring his back in the quarter-finals.

The striker suffered a fractured vertabra as a result of a tackle from Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga during their 2-1 win over their South American rivals.

Speaking at a press conference, Jose Luis Runco said: "I didn't even give the kid the chance to ask me. I broke the news and it was hard to see him crying profusely when told he was out of the competition. He only calmed down when I reasoned with him that as 22-year-old footballer his professional life still has a lot to offer.

"He should be in action in 40 to 45 days. Nothing prevents him from watching the games if he feels comfortable. In the absence of a better word, this has been a good injury because it won't leave any further problems for him despite the violence with which he was hit on the back by the opposition players.

"I have seen a lot of bad tackles going around and I am under the impression that referees been oriented to avoid cautioning players as much as possible. The images we sent to FIFA clearly show the Colombian player jumping with his knee at 90 degrees and no intention whatsoever to play the ball."

Zuniga issued an apology to Neymar following the incident.