Neymar‘s week has carried a bittersweet quality, marked by a fresh injury on one hand and a coveted call-up to Brazil‘s 2026 World Cup squad on the other. With questions swirling around his physical condition, Santos‘ medical staff has moved to ease concerns, stating that Neymar is expected to be fully fit when the Selecao’s training camp begins.
On Monday, Carlo Ancelotti formally unveiled the 26-man roster that will represent Brazil in North America. The moment Neymar’s name was read aloud at the Museu do Amanhã in Rio de Janeiro, a standing ovation broke out in the room, marking his first call-up since the Italian took charge of the national team.
The day before the announcement, Santos hosted Coritiba in a match that ended with Neymar at the center of a controversial substitution mix-up that saw him removed from the game against his will. Santos head coach Cuca subsequently confirmed that Neymar would miss Wednesday’s Copa Sudamericana clash against San Lorenzo due to a knock sustained in that match, once again raising concerns about his fitness at a critical time.
With the Santos forward sidelined from the midweek fixture, Rodrigo Zogaib, coordinator of Santos’s health department, addressed the issue directly in an interview with Globo Esporte: “Neymar has a minor injury in his calf, an edema. The plan, following his recovery progress, is to deliver him fully fit to the CBF next week.“
Neymar Junior of Santos during the game against Coritiba.
According to the Brazilian outlet, the edema sustained during the Coritiba match is only a few millimeters in size. While caution around Neymar’s physical condition has become something of a standard operating procedure for both the player and the club, this particular issue is expected to require between five and ten days of treatment.
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Neymar is also set to miss Saturday’s match against Gremio, with Santos hopeful he can feature in their final Copa Sudamericana group stage fixture against Deportivo Cuenca on Tuesday, May 26. However, with Brazil’s World Cup preparations beginning almost immediately after, reports from Globo Esporte suggest a return to Santos’ lineup is highly unlikely before he joins up with the national team.
What’s next for Neymar and Brazil?
Closely monitored by both Santos’ medical staff and the Brazilian Football Confederation, Neymar and the rest of the squad are scheduled to report to Brazil’s training camp on May 27 without restrictions, at which point Ancelotti will begin his final preparations for the tournament.
Brazil will send off their home fans with a friendly against Panama on May 31 at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro before traveling to the United States to face Egypt in another warmup match in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 6. The Selecao then open their World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 13, face Haiti on the 19th and close out the group stage against Scotland on the 24th, with fans around the world eagerly anticipating the sight of Neymar back in the iconic yellow jersey for the first time since 2023.
