NEYMAR is out of the World Cup. The big question now is how will Brazil fare without their star man.

The Barcelona star was seen as key to Brazil’s chances at the World Cup, expected to lead them to what the locals call the ‘Hexa’ — their sixth World Cup crown.

Brazilians held their breath when he grimaced in pain following a challenge by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga during their 2-1 quarter-final victory in Fortaleza on Friday.

And minutes after the end of the match, it was confirmed that Neymar had suffered from a fractured vertebra and wouldn’t be able to feature in the World Cup, most notably in their crucial semi-final against Germany.

“It’s a big blow for Brazil,” Brazil legend Ronaldo, a World Cup winner in 1994 and 2002, told a press conference at the Maracana Stadium on Saturday. “I believe it was a very violent tackle on him and I believe Brazil loses enormously by his absence.”

Just as Brazil celebrated their progression to the semis, that joy was tempered by the news of Neymar. The headlines in Brazil’s major newspapers on Saturday weren’t of their victory but the loss of their star man.

Television channels had been giving minute-by-minute reports on his prognosis as soon as he was taken to hospital.

The way Brazil is reacting, it seems they know they might have lost their best chance of winning the World Cup. Neymar has scored four of Brazil’s goals at the World Cup. He is Brazil’s best attacker.

In the current squad, there are players like Oscar and Willian who can fit in seamlessly but none of them have dazzled at the World Cup so far.

The other strikers, namely Hulk, Fred and Jo are now­here compared to Brazil’s exciting breed of strikers of the past.

Questions may be asked of coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as to why he didn’t pick either one of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lucas Moura or Alexandre Pato.

Scolari’s last hope seems to be Bernard, the player he described as with having ‘joy in his legs’ when he announced Brazil’s 23-man squad for the World Cup.

The Shakhtar Donetsk striker maybe jinky and joyful but is physically slight and prone to disappearing.

It’s a setback Scolari has to use all his experience to overcome. “Setbacks are what all great teams have to overcome,” Ronaldo added. “I hope there is a highly motivated team back on the pitch [against Germany].

“Against Colombia, I was very happy to see that there was very less dependancy on Neymar and I hope the team carry on playing that way.”

“Perhaps Fred may step up and be the hero for us.”

Fred, himself, has already vowed to win the World Cup for Neymar. “We have one more reason to play with heart in this cup,” Fred wrote on his facebook page.

Published in Dawn, July 6th , 2014