Neymar last played club football when he suffered a long-term ankle injury against Lille for Paris St-Germain on 19 February.
The game turned out to be his last appearance for PSG before he joined Al Hilal on 14 August for a reported fee of around £76.8 million ($98 million).
The 31-year-old will be hoping to emulate the Saudi Pro League debuts of two of his fellow internationals; Malcom scored all of Al Hilal’s goals in their opening 3-1 win at Abha, three days after Roberto Firmino scored a hat-trick as Al Ahli won by the same scoreline at home to Al Hazm.
Al Hilal Neymar debut
The first game in which Neymar could have played after signing for Al Hilal was the club’s home match against Al Feiha on August 19.
After Neymar was not named in the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw, Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus cast doubt on when the man who started fewer than half of PSG’s league fixtures in 2022/23 might make his debut.
“He has a slight injury now and I don’t know when he will return,” Jesus said, calling Neymar an “innovative and creative player” who will “help us to improve”.
PSG named Neymar as a substitute but did not use him during their preseason programme, and Jesus voiced his surprise at his star player’s call-up for Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru in September.
Neymar debut for Al Hilal: When could he play?
Drones overhead spelled out “Neymar is Blue” as the superstar forward joined the crowd at Al-Hilal’s home in Riyadh to watch them play Al Feiha.
Based on Jesus’ assessment, those fans could see Neymar appear for the first time at home to Al Riyadh (September 15), away to Damac (September 21) or when Al Shabab visit (September 29).
Those three dates are to be confirmed, but one game that does have a confirmed spot on the calendar is Al Hilal’s trip to Al Jabalain in the round of 32 of the King Cup of Champions on September 25.
Further ahead, Al Hilal currently have three matches scheduled in October, four in November and four in December.
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