Brazil's Neymar grimaces as he is carried off the pitch after being injured during their 2014 World Cup quarter-finals against Colombia at the Castelao arena in Fortaleza July 4, 2014.
Brazil's Neymar grimaces as he is carried off the pitch after being injured during their 2014 World Cup quarter-finals against Colombia at the Castelao arena in Fortaleza July 4, 2014. REUTERS

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is quickly shaping up to be a dream tournament for the host nation as they prepare for their semi-final clash against Germany on Tuesday. The mood is somewhat dampened however, by the announcement that Brazilian star striker Neymar Jr. will no longer be able to take part in the tournament following an injury that he sustained during the quarterfinal match against Colombia. A day after being stretchered out of the pitch and air lifted to hospital, Neymar has released an emotional video expressing his thoughts about his injury and the future of his team in the tournament (video below)

The video, which is in Portuguese, was released by the Brazilian Football Federation and is in his native Portuguese. In it he describes how playing and winning the World Cup is his dream. He then confirms that his dream to play in the final match will have to wait for another time since he will no longer be able to continue playing in the tournament as has been reported earlier.

He says that his dream was interrupted but it will continue and in this competition, he is now willing his teammates to win the World Cup on his behalf. He fully intends to be celebrating with his team and the rest of Brazil at the Maracana next Sunday. Brazil will be facing Germany in the semi-finals and if they win, they will be facing the winner of the other semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands.

The 22-year old FC Barcelona striker was in casual clothes and an inverted baseball cap while doing recording the video and despite the setting being informal, the topic became very serious as he started t become emotional even getting a little teary-eyed as he spoke about the end of his World Cup campaign and his plans to return to the pitch as soon as possible.

Neymar was airlifted out of the Brazilian team's headquarters in Teresopolis in order to receive treatment in his home town of Guaruja. He traveled by air from the fateful match in Fortaleza back to Rio de Janeiro and then in an ambulance to Teresopolis. From there, he was brought to the helicopter in a stretcher before being airlifted indicating that he is being kept immobile to prevent further injury. Reports state that he will not require surgery but will be out of the game for approximately 45 days.