Neymar may have passed mumps on to other Barcelona players

The director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Care Center (ICSC) in Barcelona explained that the spread of mumps occurs "by direct contact through droplets of saliva or sharing glasses or infected cutlery".

He also added that the risk of contagion is understood to be from the "seven days before the onset of symptoms and the four post-infection", with the "two days before the onset of symptoms," the greatest period of risk. That's why Barcelona have to be alert to any indication of anyone else suffering from it in the next few days.

Neymar was vaccinated but "vaccination coverage is 94% for the first dose," says Dr Quixano. "In addition, there is an age in which one serotype in the vaccine is less effective," she added. This disease is incubated between 15 and 24 days, so it "probably incurred in Brazil", said Quixano, who believes that Neymar having caught the disease in his country "can no longer be a coincidence, because vaccine coverage is good."

The precautions to be taken from now for the player and the people around him must be "shared isolation, especially utensils that can transmit saliva. Rest and symptomatic treatment, because there is no other treatment."

The recovery range is between two and three weeks, after which "an athlete like Neymar can forget the subject, when he is cured and discharged," concluded Dr Quixano.