Brazil and Barcelona star Neymar insists he has almost recovered from the injury that ended his World Cup dream, and is raring to go for the new club season.
Neymar responded to the expectations of the host nation by leading Brazil to the semifinals of last month's World Cup, scoring four goals in five games and carrying the entire team on his slight shoulders for much of the way.
But disaster struck in the 2-1 quarterfinal win over Colombia when a knee in the back from defender Juan Camilo Zuniga ended Neymar's tournament, fracturing a vertebra in his spine and ruling him out of his team's semifinal against Germany. Brazil went on to lose 7-1 to the Germans with Neymar watching on TV at home with his family, but the 22-year-old insisted on Thursday that he is well along the road to recovery as he arrived in Tokyo for a promotional visit.