Sao Paulo (Brazil) – The Brazil national soccer team will be without the services of its star player Neymar during the Copa America tournament in the United States next June and July, as he will not be able to recover from an injury in time. As announced by the Seleção doctor on Tuesday.

On 17 October, Neymar suffered a cruciate ligament and meniscal injury to his left knee before the end of the first half of his country’s 0–2 loss to Uruguay in Montevideo in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. With Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás de la Groce knocked out, a stretcher was called.

Be patient

The 31-year-old will need at least nine months to fully recover from the injury, which is very serious for footballers, national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said on Tuesday. As a result, Lasmar rejected the participation of the Saudi Al Hilal star in the continental championship scheduled between June 20 and July 14, which will bring together ten South American teams with six teams from the CONCACAF region (North, Central America and North America and Central America). Caribbean). Lasmar told Brazilian radio station 98 FM, “He doesn’t have time, it’s too early. There’s no point in burning the platforms, there’s no point in rushing and taking unnecessary risks to get him back on his feet before the time is needed.” He insisted, “We have to be patient. It’s too early to talk about returning nine months ago.”

But Laszmer, who operated on Neymar, is optimistic about the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star’s ability to return to his pre-injury form, saying: “We expect him to be fully recovered after this period, and with results, ready to play at a high level.” Well, without any restrictions.”

Big deal

Laszmar previously operated on Neymar after breaking a bone in his leg while playing for Paris Saint-Germain in March 2018. Neymar joined Al Hilal in August after six seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, a period punctuated by numerous physical injuries. This year, a serious injury to his right ankle kept him out of action for six months from March to September.

He suffered the injury in Brazil’s first match against Serbia at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. He returned in the quarter-finals unsuccessfully to help Brazil avoid elimination by Croatia on penalties. On September 8, when he scored a brace against Bolivia (5-1), Neymar surpassed compatriot Pele’s international goalscoring record, taking his tally to 79.