The World Cup injury list is growing by the day, but what a welcome sight it was to see Neymar back on the pitch for Brazil! The 34-year-old legend came off the bench against Scotland, his nation's final group-stage foe, and made an emotional impact that suggests he could be the difference-maker in the knockout stages. A calf injury had kept him sidelined for two matches, but now he's raring to go – a major boost for manager Carlo Ancelotti.
But while Neymar is back on song, there's bad news for England. Right-back Reece James is out of commission for at least the next two matches, including their crunch tie against Panama, after picking up a hamstring problem. Manager Thomas Tuchel is pinning his hopes on James making a swift recovery and returning later in the tournament, but it's a concern that will keep everyone on edge. Meanwhile, Declan Rice is still being assessed for a lower back and hamstring issue – he played the full 90 against Ghana despite initial doubts, but looked far from comfortable afterwards.
Egypt's Mohamed Salah could be another major casualty of this injury-ravaged tournament. The Liverpool legend suffered a knee injury during his side's draw with Iran and was forced off in the 57th minute – while manager Hossam Hassan is optimistic about his prospects, it's unclear how long he'll be out for.
And Spain's woes just keep piling up! Crystal Palace winger Yeremy Pino picked up a nasty collarbone injury during their match against Uruguay and could miss the rest of the tournament – Luis de la Fuente's already sounding alarm bells. To make matters worse, Nico Williams also suffered a groin problem in the same match, leaving La Roja short on attacking options as they head into the knockout stages.
The World Cup is a marathon, not a sprint – and these injuries highlight just how gruelling it is for players to give their all over two weeks. Medical teams will be working overtime to get these stars back on the pitch as soon as possible, but it's clear that only the fittest and most resilient will make it through to the latter stages of this epic competition.