The injury threatens Neymar’s hopes of returning to the Brazilian national team

Neymar will miss Santos’ match against Mirasol in the Brazilian Premier League on Tuesday due to a persistent muscle strain, dealing a new blow to the striker’s hopes of returning to the Brazilian national team squad before the World Cup.

Santos said that the player’s absence is a precautionary measure, but the timing is not appropriate as Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti organized a trip from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo to watch Neymar (34 years old) while playing.

Sources related to the Brazilian Football Confederation and the technical committee of the national team told Reuters that Neymar’s absence from Tuesday’s match was met with surprise and frustration from the Brazilian Football Confederation and Ancelotti, who had hoped to closely evaluate the No. 10 player.

Ancelotti previously explained that he would only select players who were fully fit and could meet the physical requirements of the Brazilian national team. Neymar’s absence from today’s match may cost the player a loss of a place on the national team’s roster, which will be announced on March 16 in preparation for the friendly matches against France and Croatia on the 26th and 31st of the same month.

Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 128 matches, has not played with his country’s national team since October 2023, when he suffered several serious knee ligament injuries that hindered his return.

Since Neymar returned to the Santos club, where he grew up, coming from Saudi Arabia in January 2025, he has shown glimpses of his usual level, but he has struggled to maintain his performance in a series of consecutive matches.

The Brazilian national team’s attacking options include a number of physically fit players such as Vinicius Junior, Estévao, Rafinha, Joao Pedro, Gabriel Martinelli, Indrik, Igor Jesus and Matthews Cunha.

Ancelotti will continue his visit to avoid leaving the impression that he only went to see Neymar, even though this was the main reason for his trip.

Neymar is expected to be ready to participate in next Sunday’s match against Corinthians at Villa Belmiro Stadium. However, Ancelotti will attend the match between Botafogo and Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro on the same day, with his assistants tasked with monitoring the Corinthians match.

It seems that time is running out for Neymar, as Brazil is scheduled to announce the final list of players participating in the World Cup next May, and the tournament finals will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States from June 11 to July 19.