Neymar injured, unlikely to be fit for World Cup first game

FILE- Brazil’s Neymar controls the ball during a World Cup qualifying soccer match against Peru at National stadium in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

RIO DE JANEIRO — Picking injury-prone Neymar in Brazil’s World Cup squad seemed a risk and so it proved just 10 days later on Thursday.

The 34-year-old forward has a calf injury and likely will not be fit for Brazil’s opening game against Morocco, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said.

“The expectation is that he will be sidelined from two to three weeks,” Lasmar told reporters.

Brazil plays Morocco on June 13 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to start a group that also includes Haiti and Scotland.

“Neymar arrived (Wednesday) at the Granja Comary,” Lasmar said, referring to the team’s training base near Rio de Janeiro, “did all medical tests, and was diagnosed with a grade two calf injury.”

Neymar was selected for his fourth World Cup in a 26-man squad by coach Carlo Ancelotti despite not playing for the national team since October 2023 when he tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee in a World Cup qualifying game against Uruguay.

He has played just a few games this season for Santos since returning from Saudi Arabia on a free transfer from Al-Hilal.

FIFA’s World Cup rules allow Neymar to be replaced by a June 1 deadline for Ancelotti to submit his final squad, or up to one day before a team’s first game at the tournament.