Soccer legend Neymar, who plays for Brazil’s national team and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), broke his small toe metatarsal and sprained his ankle against Marseille on Feb. 25. He was carried off the field by stretcher after an inversion trauma (rolling his ankle inward) while chasing down a ball. The preliminary X-ray did not show any broken bones, but PSG stated further inspection with an ultrasound and computed tomography scan discovered a crack in a bone in his foot, sprained ankle and a grade 1 muscle injury in his quadricep.

Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team made a joint decision for surgery. The metatarsal is the long bone that joins the middle of the foot with the toe. Most fractures at the base (nearer to the ankle) of the small toe metatarsal heal without surgery. Some fractures occur in a specific area known to have trouble healing. Surgery is considered for those fractures. He also suffered a sprained ankle, but the severity is unknown.

It’s possible the decision for surgery was intended to speed up the recovery for the approaching World Cup in June. The idea that surgery speeds bone healing is a fallacy, particularly a non-displaced fracture that cannot be seen on an X-ray. Sometimes surgery is necessary to get a bone to heal. But for bones that can heal naturally, the mending occurs over the same time course whether there is a metal device holding it or not. While the metal can provide extra support, if the fracture is not healed, there is a risk not just of re-fracturing the bone, but also ripping out or breaking the metal device.

Neymar had surgery Saturday, March 3 to insert a pin into the cracked bone in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Bleacher Report described the estimated recovery time as 2 ½ to three months, presumably referring to the time until he will be allowed to play soccer.

Bone healing is not a switch that is flipped. It takes a full year for a bone to get to 100 percent strength after fracture. Most bones get to 80 or 90 percent strength within about three to four months. There will be some vulnerability in the bone and some risk of re-fracture if he chooses to play in the world cup. Many athletes accept such risks for such important games in their lives.

This article was made by Alexa Ryder and David Ring