- NEW: Argentinian star Lionel Messi says: "I hope you recover very soon, friend!"
- Neymar fractured a vertebra during Brazil's World Cup win, team doctor says
- He is out for World Cup semifinal and, if Brazil beats Germany, the final
- One Brazilian fan says, "It's like we have lost today"
Editor's note: How are you celebrating the World Cup? Join the global conversation on CNN Facebook Pulse
(CNN) -- Brazil is into the World Cup semifinals.
But its brightest star is out.
Neymar fractured his vertebra Friday night during his team's World Cup quarterfinal win over Colombia and will miss the remainder of the football tournament, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told reporters after the game.
The 22-year-old got kneed in the back during a second-half collision with a Colombian player. He rolled on the ground afterward, then cried in apparent pain while being taken off the field on a stretcher.
"It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilize it to recover," said Lasmar, according to a story on the official website of FIFA, which runs the World Cup. "Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play."
His loss is a huge blow for Brazil, which entered the World Cup with steep expectations given its traditional excellence in the sport -- its won more championships than any other country -- and the fact it is hosting the tourney for the first time since 1950.
As one woman dressed in a Brazilian national team jersey told CNN on Friday night in Rio de Janeiro, "It's like we have lost today."
"It's terrible, terrible. I'm so sad," she added regarding Neymar's injury. "But let's go on."
Brazil's players celebrate after winning the quarter-final football match between Brazil and Colombia on Friday, July 4. Brazil won the match 2-1 and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. 
Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga waves after the game. 
Brazil forward Neymar is carried on a stretcher after being injured following a tackle. 
Neymar of Brazil is challenged by Juan Camilo Zuniga of Colombia. 
Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez runs with the ball. 
Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez, left, shoots and scores a penalty. 
Brazilian defender David Luiz celebrates after he scored on a long-range free kick to give his team a 2-0 lead over Colombia. 
Colombian captain Mario Yepes (No. 3) tries to kick the ball past Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar. 
Brazil's Thiago Silva, right, receives a yellow card from referee Carlos Velasco Carballo. 
Thiago Silva fights for a header near Colombian forward Teofilo Gutierrez. 
Colombia's James Rodriguez takes a free kick. 
Fernandinho of Brazil, left, tackles Fredy Guarin of Colombia. 
David Luiz, left, and Colombia's Cristian Zapata compete for the ball. 
Brazilian midfielder Oscar falls down. 
Rodriguez lies on the field after a challenge. 
Brazilian forward Neymar heads the ball past Colombian defender Pablo Armero. 
Neymar prepares to take a corner kick. 
Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina tips a ball over the crossbar. 
Gutierrez falls over David Luiz. 
Thiago Silva celebrates after scoring a goal early in the match to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. 
Thiago Silva's goal came on a redirected corner kick. 
The stadium in Fortaleza was filled with fans wearing yellow, the primary color of both teams. 
Armero stands over Oscar. 
A Colombia supporter cheers prior to the game. 
Brazil fans cheer their team. 
Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger celebrates his team's 1-0 victory over France in a World Cup quarterfinal match in Rio de Janeiro. 
France's Eliaquim Mangala consoles teammate Antoine Griezmann after the match. 
Germany's Thomas Mueller, left, and France's Patrice Evra compete for the ball in the second half. 
French midfielder Mathieu Valbuena attempts to dispossess Schweinsteiger. 
Evra heads the ball toward German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. 
Referee Nestor Pitana shows a yellow card to Germany's Sami Khedira. 
Schweinsteiger and French midfielder Paul Pogba compete for the ball. 
Evra challenges Mueller. 
Germany's Miroslav Klose, left, and France's Yohan Cabaye go up for a header. 
French defender Mamadou Sakho reacts after his team missed a shot on goal. 
Valbuena takes a shot. 
Mueller, center, collides with Lloris, right, and Evra. 
Lloris makes a save. 
From left, French defender Mathieu Debuchy, Klose and Khedira compete for the ball. 
Germany's Mesut Oezil takes a free kick. 
Mats Hummels celebrates with Mueller, left, and Oezil after his first-half header gave Germany a 1-0 lead. 
Klose celebrates Hummels' goal as it passes Lloris. 
Hummels fights off French defender Raphael Varane to score on his header. 
Germany's Benedikt Hoewedes, left, gets past Debuchy. 
French midfielder Yohan Cabaye, left, looks on as Khedira kicks the ball in the first half. 
Germany's Toni Kroos, left, and Khedira challenge France's Blaise Matuidi. 
Pogba competes for the ball. 
Matuidi, left, challenges Schweinsteiger. 
A Germany fan poses with friends wearing masks of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 
A France supporter cheers for her team. 
Fans sit in the Maracana stadium before the match. 
World Cup: The best photos from July 4 
The business of being Neymar 
Brazil advances to the semifinals 
Football fever sweeping Cuba Many in Brazil still have a bitter taste from that World Cup decades ago, when the host lost in the finals to Uruguay.
It's not like the next game would have been easy regardless. In the semifinal Tuesday, Brazil will face Germany, which is undefeated in the tournament and handily toppled France earlier Friday. The final game will take place July 13.
Neymar is not the only one unavailable for the semifinal: Thiago Silva, the squad's captain, will also miss the game after getting his second yellow card on Friday -- which automatically rules him out of his next game.
Neymar has been the face of his team in his native Brazil and around the world. He has scored four goals, more than anyone else on his team and anyone in the tournament besides Colombia's James Rodriguez. (Argentina's Lionel Messi and Germany's Thomas Mueller also have four goals, like Neymar.)
A standout with the Brazilian club Santos, Neymar moved last summer to one of the world's richest, most successful clubs in FC Barcelona.
Messi, his teammate there, was among those who offered their regrets that Neymar is out of the World Cup and their best wishes for a speedy recovery.
The legendary Argentinian posted Friday night on his Facebook page: "Neymar, I hope you recover very soon, friend!"
Read: Brazil battles past Colombia
Read: Germany haunts France yet again
CNN's Harry Reekie, Fred Pleitgen and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.
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