Neymar ruled out for two to three weeks with calf injury, putting World Cup start in doubt

Neymar faces a race against time to be fit for Brazil’s 2026 World Cup opener after Santos confirmed the 34-year-old has sustained a grade two calf injury, with the national team’s doctor estimating a recovery window of two to three weeks.

Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar outlined the diagnosis following an MRI scan. “Neymar underwent all the medical tests, which concluded with an MRI scan revealing a grade two calf injury, not just swelling,” Lasmar said. “He is expected to be cleared in two to three weeks.”

The injury was first sustained during Santos’ Campeonato Brasileiro Série A match against Coritiba 11 days ago. Neymar subsequently missed the club’s fixture against Grêmio and will also be absent when Santos host Vitória on Saturday. The two-to-three-week timeline means he will not feature in Brazil’s home friendly against Panama or their match against Egypt in Cleveland, Ohio on 6 June.

Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti had named Neymar in his squad for the tournament, where the Seleção open Group C against Morocco at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, 13 June. Santos’ medical staff have sought to reassure supporters that Neymar will be fit to join the national camp and participate fully, but Lasmar’s more cautious assessment has placed that timetable in question.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward has had a disrupted 2026 domestic season, starting just eight of Santos’ Série A fixtures and scoring four goals. The club currently sit fourth from bottom in the Brazilian top flight, having won only four of their opening 17 matches.

Neymar, Brazil’s record goalscorer, has been included in each of the country’s last four World Cup squads, beginning with the 2014 tournament on home soil. At the 2022 edition in Qatar, he made three appearances before Brazil were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Croatia.

Should Neymar recover within the projected window, his next club fixture would fall approximately three days after the World Cup final, against Botafogo.