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Picking injury-prone Neymar in Brazil’s World Cup squad seemed like a risk, and it proved just 10 days later on Thursday.
The 34-year-old striker has a calf injury and is unlikely to be fit for Brazil’s opening game against Morocco, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said.
“The expectation is that he will be sidelined from two to three weeks,” Lasmar told reporters.
Brazil will play Morocco on June 13 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to start a group that also includes Haiti and Scotland.
“Neymar arrived [Wednesday] at Granja Comary,” said Lasmar, referring to the team’s training base near Rio de Janeiro, “conducted all medical tests and was diagnosed with a grade two calf injury.”
Neymar was selected for his fourth World Cup in a 26-man squad by coach Carlo Ancelotti despite not having played for the national team since October 2023, when he tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.
He has made just a few appearances this season for Santos since returning from Saudi Arabia on a free transfer from Al-Hilal.
FIFA World Cup rules allow Neymar to be replaced by a June 1 deadline for Ancelotti to submit his final squad, or up to a day before a team’s first match at the tournament.
Report from the Associated Press.
