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Brazil star Neymar will miss the upcoming World Cup group stage match against Haiti in Philadelphia, the national federation has confirmed.
The forward, who has been battling a calf injury, was already sidelined for Brazil’s opening draw against Morocco last Saturday, having been selected for the squad despite the ongoing issue.
A bulletin issued by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Thursday stated: “Neymar will not travel with the squad to Philadelphia. He will remain in New Jersey to optimise the final stage of his recovery, utilizing the excellent facilities at The Ridge hotel and the Columbia Park training complex.”
This means the Santos player’s first opportunity to join the squad, if not feature in a match, could be against Scotland in Miami next Wednesday.
Carlo Ancelotti will hope to have Neymar back for Brazil’s final group game (Getty)
That will be Brazil’s final group game, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men still having work to do to seal their place in the knockout stages after their stalemate with Morocco.
Neymar has not played in over a month after picking up an injury while playing for Santos.
He has not played for Brazil since October 2023 after battling with several injury setbacks and a lack of form, but he was still selected in Ancelotti’s World Cup squad last month.
The 34-year-old is aiming to feature in his fourth World Cup after previously playing in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Neymar played a key role in Brazil’s run to the semi-finals on home soil 12 years ago, but then missed the last-four encounter with Germany due to a back injury.
He could only watch on from the sidelines as Brazil suffered a 7-1 defeat against the eventual champions.
Brazil then suffered quarter-final heartbreak in 2018, losing 2-1 to Belgium, and they went out at the same stage four years later when they were beaten on penalties by Croatia.
Neymar remains Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer, having netted 79 times in 128 appearances for his country.
