Neymar has joined a long list of famous footballers to have been sidelined during their careers by a metatarsal injury.
The Brazilian superstar is a major doubt for Paris St Germain’s Champions League round-of-16 tie with Real Madrid on March 6 after fracturing a fifth metatarsal and spraining an ankle in Sunday’s Ligue 1 win over rivals Marseille.
Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at some other high profile players who have suffered one of the sport’s most common injuries.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi was out for three months when he broke a metatarsal (Simon Cooper/EMPICS)
David Beckham
David Beckham was willed back to fitness by a whole nation in 2002 (John Walton/EMPICS)
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney recoverd in time for the 2006 World Cup finals (Owen Humphreys/PA)
John Terry
John Terry had an early setback after his move to Aston Villa (Barrington Coombs/EMPICS)
Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard was sidelined for longer than expected with his foot injury (Peter Byrne/PA)
Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus, centre, was hit by the injury last season (Martin Rickett/PA)
Manuel Neuer
Manuel Neuer has not yet returned to first-team action (Mike Egerton/EMPICS)
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