RIO DE JANEIRO – When Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti named injury-prone Neymar to his 26-man preliminary squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the decision immediately raised eyebrows across global football circles. Just 10 days after the squad announcement, those concerns have turned into reality: the 34-year-old star forward has been diagnosed with a grade two calf injury that will almost certainly keep him out of Brazil’s opening group stage fixture against Morocco, the national team’s senior doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed to reporters on Thursday.
Lasmar shared that Neymar reported to Brazil’s iconic Granja Comary training complex, located just outside Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday to complete pre-camp medical screenings. Following a full battery of tests, medical staff confirmed the calf strain, with an expected recovery timeline that will keep the attacker sidelined for between two and three weeks. That timeline rules Neymar out of Brazil’s first group match, scheduled for June 13 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Brazil’s group also features Haiti and Scotland, meaning Neymar could still potentially return for later group stage matches if his rehabilitation progresses smoothly.
The latest injury setback adds another chapter to Neymar’s long-running battle with fitness issues in recent years. The four-time World Cup attendee has not featured for the Brazilian senior national side since October 2023, when he suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee during a World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay. Following his recovery, Neymar completed a free transfer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal back to his boyhood club Santos in Brazil earlier this year, but has only appeared in a handful of first-team matches for the club as he works his way back to full match fitness.
For Ancelotti, there is still a path to replacing Neymar in the squad if the coaching and medical staff decide that is the best course of action. Under FIFA’s official World Cup competition rules, head coaches are permitted to make alterations to their squads up until the June 1 deadline for final squad submissions, or even as late as 24 hours before a team’s opening tournament match if a player suffers a qualifying injury. The Brazilian Football Confederation and Ancelotti’s staff have not yet announced whether they will pursue a replacement, with the focus currently on supporting Neymar through his initial recovery.