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Neymar is expected to return from a right calf injury and play for Brazil in its final World Cup group game, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday night.
Neymar missed Brazil’s first two games at the tournament, including Friday’s 3-0 win over Haiti.
Ancelotti said Neymar would undergo individual training on Saturday, train with the team on Monday and “will be available” for Brazil when it closes Group C play against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Neymar is Brazil’s career leader with 79 goals in 129 international matches.
The 34-year-old midfielder has yet to train in a full session with the team since reporting to the Brazil squad while nursing the calf injury.
Neymar, eyed to play in his fourth World Cup, had tests on his calf on Monday to determine the progress of the injury he suffered while playing for Brazilian club Santos on May 17.
There was widespread debate in Brazil over whether Neymar, whose first World Cup was on home soil in 2014, should have been called up for the tournament. He has struggled since returning from tearing the ACL in his left knee in October 2023 in a World Cup qualifier.
Neymar has four goals and two assists in eight games for Santos this year.
Report from the Associated Press.
