"The star forward was involved in a late collision with Colombia's Juan Camilo Zuniga in the 88th minute, and will not be available when Brazil face Germany in the semifinal on Tuesday, or for the final on July 13, should Brazil advance.

Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said Neymar broke the third vertebra in the lumbar region of his back.

"It is a benign fracture," Lasmar said. "This news is not easy, but he will not be available at this World Cup.

"The fracture does not require surgery. There will be a conservative treatment; [he] will need physiotherapy and comfort to ease the pain.""

http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/1932881/neymar-injured-in-brazil-win

Harsh on Neymar, and a cruel tackle from Zuniga. Unnecessarily put out one of the tournament's best players. :/

Disappointed, but hopefully this injury and Thiago Silva's suspension will give Germany what they need to reach the finals. :D

Sorry for him, now he knows.

From the way it looks, an all European finals is on the cards....Germany vs Holland...i.e. if the dutch do not choke...

Wow, that was horrendous. Hope it is not a career-defining injury. People who experience this type of trauma have chronic back pains for the rest of their life.

that shitty ref is responsible for this injury. 54 fouls in one game and he refused to show a yellow until like the 70th minute? I feel so sorry for Neymar, this was the peak of many fouls on him during this game and the world cup. Also this looks very intentional to me, fuck you Zuniga. what a shame...

That's a red card for that kind of foul. And I hope he does a quick recovery. He was the star of Brazil, now they will have to rely of the strikers on the bench.

Words cannot express my disappointment...

Seriously.. this is so bad >.<, get well soon Neymar :(

That is no where near the ball absolutely deserved red card . Wow that referee was horrible !! FIFA should not look into Zuniga's foul but look into referee who obviously is incompetent to ref big matches . Shocking refereeing ! And he had smirk on his face as if he got everything under control , made me really angry .

He did not control the game at all ! I firmly believe such referees should be banned from international competitions . There are thousands of referees and everyone can be prepared well for big tournaments and be privileged to take his place .

Really been enjoying this World Cup but referees have to always spoil everything .

Edit: Now I just do not see Brazil reaching world cup ... It is a huge pity that promising favorite to win World Cup is taken out by dumb ar*e referee .

@Marcus

Well, to be honest, the referee couldn't have really done anything about Neymar's injury. Booking Zuniga in the last minute of the match would hardly have any effect because Brazil were already leading 2-1. Questionably, Fernandinho and Cesar got away with yellows and a red respectively, and at one point in the match, 40 fouls had been committed, but only one yellow card had been given. :/

Simpsons did it!

The problem is that he NEVER had a control of the game from the first minutes . Nothing would have escalated to free running heavy tackling football if he had controlled it at least a bit . It is fair to say that both teams made so heavy challenges , and as far Cesar , he got exactly what he deserved .

However , one player I have huge problem with was Zuniga ( he was literally like Pepe's cousin running around on the field making any tackle he wants ) should have seen at least one yellow in first half . Zuniga's straight leg challenge on Hulk's knee deserved yellow at least , but nothing . Just recently we were talking about Matiudi tackle which got ( yellow ) and many were demanding red , but Zuniga did exact similar and got away with no punishment at all !!

Remember that this is the same referee who had a terrible performance in ENgland vs Uruguya match . One that was most visible one was not giving Diego Godin for forearm challenge on Daniel Sturridge . Awful referee did not learn a thing from that game . He ruined tournament for Neymar , Brazil team , Brazil fans and football fans around the world like me .

"I have huge problem with was Zuniga ( he was literally like Pepe's cousin running around on the field making any tackle he wants ) "

LOL. Best comparison ever. :')

No seriously, most referees were trash this tournament. I thought the referee for the Dutch - Costa Rica game was pretty decent today. He missed that one questionable penalty call against Ron Vlaar, but called most decisions right. :P

I've also heard that Willian has picked up a knock in training. Time for the mini-man Bernard to step up.

@Dyn, the linesman in the BEL-ARG game was superb, just like the bald linesman in the NED-CRC game

Ravshan Irmatov best referee of the last World cup and this year World Cup . 4 times best of Asia and again proving why . Him and his linesmen have set some high standars for others . Last time I saw such a consistent good refereeing was when Pierluigi Collina was still around .