Neymar has taken his most encouraging step yet on the road back from injury, completing individual running drills on the pitch for the first time since suffering a right calf muscle strain. The forward, who has been sidelined since May 17 when the injury occurred during a Santos club fixture, moved his recovery work outdoors at Brazil's base in Morristown, New Jersey - a visible sign of progress that has lifted spirits across the Seleção camp.
Until this week, Neymar had been confined to the gym, working through treatment protocols under the supervision of the CBF medical staff. The shift to outdoor work on grass represents a meaningful threshold in second-degree muscle injury recovery, where controlled running loads are reintroduced before any change of direction or contact work is considered. For context, this is a stage that typically arrives two to three weeks before a player is cleared for full team training - though timelines vary depending on individual response. Brazil's medical team is clearly treating the 34-year-old's rehabilitation with caution, mindful that a recurrence of the injury at this stage of the tournament would be far more damaging than any delay in his return. Much like fans tracking different sporting markets - whether following the Seleção's progress or keeping tabs on emerging competitions like bet mpl mobile legend - the anticipation surrounding Neymar's comeback has taken on a momentum of its own.
The Brazilian Football Confederation issued a measured but optimistic update on the player's condition, confirming that Neymar has advanced to the next phase of his recovery plan. Footage released by the CBF showed the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward performing physical exercises under staff supervision - nothing explosive, nothing reckless, but enough to confirm that the trajectory is positive. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who made the decision to include Neymar in the squad despite the injury being known at the time of selection, has indicated he expects the captain to integrate into full group training from next week.
A Calculated Gamble That May Yet Pay Off
Ancelotti's choice to bring Neymar to the tournament without a guarantee of fitness raised eyebrows at the time. A second-degree muscle injury is not a minor complaint - it requires weeks of structured rehabilitation and carries a genuine risk of recurrence if loading is rushed. But the Italian coach made clear that his reasoning extended beyond the strictly physical. In his assessment, Neymar's presence in the squad environment carries weight even when he is unavailable to play. For a group that includes a number of younger players still establishing themselves at international level, having a figure of Neymar's experience and stature around the training ground and the dressing room is not a trivial factor.
That logic is not without precedent. Senior players returning from injury have often served as focal points for collective motivation, and Neymar - whatever the turbulence that has surrounded parts of his career - remains the central symbol of Brazilian football's identity. His influence on teammates is genuine, and Ancelotti, a manager who has consistently demonstrated an ability to manage major egos and major personalities, appears to be deploying that influence deliberately.
Group Stage Absence, Knockout Stage Target
The medical staff's plan is clear in its priorities. Brazil's remaining group stage fixtures - against Haiti and Scotland - will proceed without Neymar in the squad. The target is the knockout rounds. That approach reflects sound medical practice: there is no purpose in accelerating a recovery to meet group stage matches that Brazil are expected to navigate comfortably, only to risk a setback that could eliminate Neymar from the tournament altogether.
Brazil's most recent outing was a 1-1 draw with Morocco in a friendly, a result that served as a reminder that the Seleção are not yet operating at peak cohesion. Neymar was present on the bench for that match but was not included on the official team sheet. His return to the pitch, whenever it comes, will add a dimension to Brazil's attacking play that no other player in the squad can replicate - the ability to create something from nothing in tight spaces, to draw fouls in dangerous areas, and to shift the psychological weight of a match.
What His Return Would Mean for Brazil
At 34, Neymar is no longer the same player who terrorised defences at Barcelona during the club's most dominant period, nor the figure who carried Brazil's hopes through successive World Cup campaigns. Injuries have taken their toll - the ACL rupture that ruled him out of the 2023 Copa America and then the near-total loss of the 2023-24 season with Al-Hilal were significant setbacks that interrupted his momentum at a critical stage of his career. His return to Santos this year was, in many respects, a statement of intent - a desire to recapture form and relevance ahead of a major tournament.
That context makes the sight of him running on grass in New Jersey more significant than it might appear on the surface. It is not simply an injury update. For millions of Brazilian fans, it is the first concrete indication that the country's most celebrated footballer of his generation may yet have a meaningful role to play in this tournament. The medical staff will manage him carefully. Ancelotti will not rush him. But if the recovery holds, Brazil's knockout campaign will look very different with Neymar available - and that, for now, is enough to sustain genuine optimism across a nation that has waited a long time for its next major honour.
