FORTALEZA, Brazil - With tears streaming down his face after being kneed in the back, Neymar was carried off the field on a stretcher. He wont be coming back. Not to this World Cup, anyway. The 22-year-old Brazil striker, the one with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after fracturing his third vertebra during Fridays 2-1 quarterfinal win over Colombia. "Its a big loss for us," Brazil midfielder Fernandinho said. "We need to find a way to stay together and become stronger after losing our greatest player. We will try to win this World Cup and for sure we will dedicate it to Neymar." Neymar is the biggest football star in Brazil, and one of the biggest at the tournament along with Argentina forward Lionel Messi. His face has been plastered on billboards and shown on television continuously, leading many of his staunchest supporters to copy his dyed-blonde fauxhawk. His millions of fans had expected Neymars World Cup to end with him holding the trophy, not being carried off the field in tears. Neymar was kneed by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga late in the second half at the Arena Castelao. He was taken to a private clinic and was released a short time later. He was not expected to need surgery, Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said, but he will also not be able to face Germany on Tuesday in the World Cup semifinals. "He will not be in condition to play, he will need a few weeks to be fit again," Lasmar said. "He is very, very sad." About 50 Brazil fans, many still wearing the teams jerseys, crowded outside the clinic where Neymar was taken, while the ambulance that carried him remained parked in front, lights blazing. Neymar was hurt in the 86th minute, falling to the ground in pain after Zuniga jumped into him from behind. Brazil teammate Marcelo quickly called for medical assistance when he saw Neymar writhing in pain. Neymar stayed face down until team doctors arrived and put him on a stretcher. "Everybody knew that Neymar would be hunted," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "Its been happening in the last three matches and we had been talking about it. But nobody listens to us." Fridays match ended with 54 fouls in total — 31 by Brazil and 23 by Colombia. Scolari said Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo should have done more to take control of the match. According to Hulk, another of Brazils striker, Neymar needs more protection from the officials. "Every time is like this. Players always come after Neymar," Hulk said. "The referees need to do more to keep this from happening." ___ Associated Press video journalist Renata Brito contributed to this report. Toronto Blue Jays Pro Shop . The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League. Blue Jays Jerseys 2019 . Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/.Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Toronto Blue Jays Gear .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot.DALLAS -- Lars Eller put a stop to Montreals third-period meltdowns. Eller scored the midway through the third period after Dallas scored twice to tie it, leading Canadiens to a 6-4 win over the Stars on Thursday night. "It was just one of those crazy games," said Eller, who scored by putting a shot over Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonens left shoulder to the short side. "Usually we dont score a lot of goals, but the last two games it seems like the puck is going in more." Max Pacioretty added an empty-netter in the closing minutes as the Canadiens finished their longest road trip of the season at 3-2-1. On Tuesday night at Carolina, the Canadiens led 3-0 going into the third-period but lost 5-4 in overtime. "Its a big win, but Ive got to look at the road trip," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "We had a chance to make a good road trip, and this is exactly what we did. "This (Dallas) is a good hockey team, and they were playing well lately," he added, "so it was a good challenge for us." Pacioretty had two goals, giving him a team-high of 19, and two assists. P.K. Subban had a goal and three assists. Brendan Gallagher and David Desharnais also scored for Montreal (24-14-4). Valeri Nichushkin converted a penalty shot for Dallas. Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Brenden Dillon also tallied for the Stars (20-13-7). Dallas lost in regulation for the first time in eight games, ending its longest streak of games with a point this season at 5-0-2. "I was concerned after going through the stretch we went through with a couple real emotional wins that we might get loose, and we were loose," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "Parts of this game, I thought we gambled on the offensive side and gave up some real good chances that we normally dont give up." Seguin, whose goal and assist gave him club highs with 21 goals and 41 points, said the Stars didnt deserve to win. "I think we got aa little complacent after having a soft few games in a row," he said.dddddddddddd "We gave em a lot, gave em a lot of opportunities. Our goalie made some unbelievable saves. (We) kind of left him hangin out to dry, including myself." Seguin scored at 7:42 of the third period on the power play and Dillon followed 47 seconds later to tie the score at 4. Subban called them lucky goals. "Dont get me wrong; they worked hard and they created opportunities for themselves," Subban said. "But two knuckle pucks, and theyre very deceiving or fortunate." Then Eller netted his 10th of the season at10:39 to put Montreal ahead for good. Nichushkin, taken down by Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges near the crease, beat goalie Carey Price to his glove side on the penalty shot to tie the score at 2-2 early in the second period. Subban scored at 6:30 to put Montreal ahead. Price got his second assist of the season on the goal. Subban earlier made a backhand pass while wheeling through the left circle to set up Desharnais in the slot for a shot that beat Lehtonen, who was screened and falling in the crease, to give Montreal a 2-1 lead. Benn opened the scoring with his 14th goal of the season at 6:12 of the first period. He struck a one-timer near the right point following a cross-ice pass out of the left corner from Seguin. That extended Benns streak of consecutive games with a point to five, including goals in four. The Canadiens tied the score at the 11-minute mark of the period. Pacioretty took an outlet pass at the red line from Subban, raced in alone on the Dallas net and scored to Lehtonens glove side. NOTES: Montreal wing George Parros, sidelined since Dec. 14 with his second concussion of the season, left the team on Thursday morning and went to the University of Michigan to seek an opinion of a concussion specialist. ... Canadiens centre Daniel Briere, the 36-year-old former All-Star, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ' ' '