Neymar 'is REMOVED from the Al-Hilal squad for the rest of the season'

Al-Hilal have reportedly excluded Brazilian superstar Neymar from their squad for the rest of the season.

Neymar followed Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in moving to the Saudi Pro League last summer, and he was Al-Hilal's marquee signing when he joined for £78m.

But he made just five appearances for the club before suffering a serious knee injury on international duty with Brazil that is expected to keep him out for the rest of the season.

After completing the signing of Brazilian full back Renan Lodi earlier this week, Al-Hilal had a big decision to make as they had run out of space in their squad to register another overseas player.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, they have now opted to remove Neymar from the squad for the rest of the campaign in order to register Renan Lodi.

The club will be able to re-register Neymar at the end of the season when he is likely to return from injury, but his future in Saudi Arabia could now be in doubt.

Al-Hilal already have a number of high-profile overseas players including Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic, and must make the call over whether Neymar warrants a place in their squad ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The 31-year-old has struggled with fitness issues in recent seasons, and missed the final three-and-a-half months of last term after undergoing ankle surgery.

Neymar's Al-Hilal deal is due to run until June 2025, and there is an option to extend his contract by a further year, but the two parties could go their separate ways after a disastrous first season for the forward in the Middle East.

Neymar has been filmed writhing in agony as he goes through his rehabilitation work for his knee injury, raising fears that he may never be the same player that lit up the international