All of Brazil suffers: Santos announces decision following Neymar’s latest injury

Neymar‘s comeback lasted just half an hour. The club has announced the next steps following the latest setback.

Amid a soccer crisis for the Brazilian national team, which continues its search for a coach to replace the dismissed Dorival Júnior, the need to have Neymar back as a leader has become urgent. Hopes were high when the star returned to the country to rejoin Santos, but injuries have quickly emerged to dampen that expectation.

After just eight games, Neymar suffered a tear, and last Wednesday he reappeared to face Atlético Mineiro in the Brasileirao. But he only lasted 34 minutes on the field before feeling discomfort again. “He underwent imaging tests and a new injury was confirmed, this time in the semimembranosus muscle“ of the left thigh, the club reported.

The club added: “The athlete will continue with muscle strengthening work, always trying to achieve better muscle levels to avoid new appearances. He will be re-evaluated periodically for monitoring and for new treatment definitions.“

Santos takes action

Neymar’s recurring injuries, which are also explained by the inactivity with which he arrived at Santos from Saudi Arabia, have led Santos to make a decision in conjunction with the player. “It was decided together with the staff and the athlete himself that this recovery work will continue and, if necessary, new approaches will be adopted to achieve the ideal values for the return to the field,“ the club said in a statement published this Friday.

While the player will have plenty of time to recover before the CONMEBOL Qualifiers resume, with dates scheduled for June 5 and 10, it is the inactivity that he continues to accumulate that has everyone in Brazil worried, regardless of who is chosen as coach.

Brazil’s coaching search

Real Madrid’s elimination in the Champions League quarterfinals has left Carlo Ancelotti on shaky ground and rekindled the CBF’s hope of reaching an agreement with the Italian coach to be Dorival Júnior’s successor.

If not him, the alternatives that have been considered are Filipe Luis, who has reportedly made it known that he wants to fulfill his contractual link with Flamengo; Jorge Jesús, with whom the termination of Al Hilal would have to be resolved by paying a millionaire clause, and Abel Ferreira, current DT of Palmeiras. Meanwhile, Ramón Menezes will take charge of the national team on an interim basis.