Neymar won't play against Egypt, concern grows in Brazil | OneFootball

Neymar, sidelined with a calf injury, will remain in New Jersey to continue his recovery process and will not travel with the Brazilian national team to Cleveland for Saturday’s friendly against Egypt, a warm-up for the 2026 World Cup. The CBF statement said that he will remain “under physiotherapy treatment while intensifying his physical recovery program.”

Santos’ No. 10, the most celebrated name in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s squad list, arrived at the Brazil camp already injured, after suffering a twinge in his right calf on May 17 in a Brasileirão match against Coritiba. At the time, his club downplayed the issue as “swelling”, and Ancelotti included him in the list of 26 a day later.

However, the Brazilian confederation wanted its own diagnosis and sent the player for an MRI, which confirmed a Grade II muscle injury, with an estimated recovery time of two to three weeks. As of now, 18 days have passed, but he has already been definitively ruled out for the match, by which point it will have been 20.

Ney, 34, had already missed last Sunday’s friendly against Panama (6-2) at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where he watched the match from the bench, and with his absence against Egypt, he is consequently also a doubt for Brazil’s World Cup opener against Morocco the following Saturday, June 13, in New Jersey.

Since the start of the training camp on May 27, Neymar has worked mainly in the gym and has barely set foot on the pitch except for light movement drills. Despite the uncertainty over his physical condition, Ancelotti guaranteed the presence of the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player at the World Cup, which begins in a week in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

“To be clear, he will be with us. We are completely sure that we are not going to replace anyone. The 26 players selected are these 26, and these 26 will play in the World Cup,” the Italian coach said.

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