Neymar has officially missed Brazil's first pre-World Cup training session in Teresópolis to undergo urgent clinical evaluations and an MRI scan on a bruised right calf, casting immediate doubt over his physical readiness for the upcoming tournament. Neymar suffered the injury on 17 May 2026, while playing for his club, Santos, in a 3-0 defeat against Coritiba. Neymar aggressively downplayed the issue. While attending a Santos Copa Sudamericana match from the stands, he bluntly told reporters, "What problem?", insisting his leg is fine. On social media, his team posted workout photos captioned "Focus and consistency" to combat media panic. Santos’ head of medical, Rodrigo Zogaib, initially reported a 2-millimeter edema causing swelling in the right calf. He claimed the forward would recover in exactly a week to join the national squad.

Once Neymar arrived at Brazil's Granja Comary training complex in Teresópolis, the narrative shifted. Sources inside the Brazil camp told ESPN that the swelling is not minor. Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar immediately pulled him out of tactical drills and sent him to a private clinic for emergency MRI scans. Because the edema is more deep-seated than expected, the Seleção medical team has completely restricted Neymar from on-pitch training. He is barred from ball work and tactical squad sessions for up to 10 days. He is confined to indoor physiotherapy, non-weight-bearing cardiovascular work, and targeted fluid-drainage therapies to reduce the calf swelling. Brazil has no intention of cutting him from the 26-man roster, but they need him to log at least one full-intensity team practice before the June 13 opener against Morocco.

Carlo Ancelotti breaks his philosophy of including only 100% fit players

Carlo Ancelotti’s inclusion of Neymar in Brazil's final 26-man roster represents a direct contradiction of his strictly stated 100% fitness philosophy. Throughout his tenure, Ancelotti repeatedly warned the media and players that reputation would not guarantee a ticket to North America, explicitly stating that if any player, even a superstar was at 90%, they would be dropped for someone fully fit. By calling up a 34-year-old forward who has not played a single competitive minute for Brazil since October 2023, Ancelotti has visibly shifted his pragmatic core values for this unique World Cup campaign. Ancelotti justified his choice by highlighting Neymar's 12 recent matches and 5 goals for Santos FC. Rather than demanding the relentless physical peak required of younger players, Ancelotti looked for acceptable momentum. "He has improved his fitness a lot in recent matches," Ancelotti explained to Reuters. "He can maintain high intensity... but there are matches and matches.” Also Read | Brazil unveil star-studded squad for FIFA World Cup 2026

Ancelotti explicitly admitted that some spots in his squad were filled based on historical value rather than biometric data. During his press conference via ESPN, he remarked, "He has experience in this kind of competition, the love of our group; he can create a better environment in this group.” Previously, Ancelotti required players to fit a pressing template where all four forwards run and track back. For Neymar, he abandoned this expectation, stating he selected him to help the team "whether it's for one minute, five minutes, 90 minutes, or even taking a penalty." With other critical attackers like Rodrygo missing out due to injury, Brazil faced an unexpected deficit in world-class, clutch execution in the final third.