{"id":433427,"date":"2026-01-26T02:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T02:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/433427\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T02:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T02:20:08","slug":"santos-coach-provides-optimistic-injury-update-on-neymars-return-after-knee-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/433427\/","title":{"rendered":"Santos coach provides optimistic injury update on Neymar\u2019s return after knee surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neymar<\/a> was one of the defining figures of last season in the Brasileir\u00e3o, delivering strong performances despite battling a knee injury and ultimately undergoing surgery. Still in the recovery process, Santos<\/a> head coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda offered an optimistic injury update on the Brazilian star, even suggesting a rough timeline for his return.<\/p>\n

Santos have already begun their season, starting with the Campeonato Paulista ahead of the Brasileir\u00e3o, Brazil\u2019s top division. Even so, fans of both the Peixe and the Brazil national team are eagerly awaiting Neymar\u2019s return to the pitch.<\/p>\n

Speaking during his post-match press conference following the draw against Corinthians, Vojvoda addressed Neymar\u2019s progress directly: \u201cWe\u2019ll have him soon. Weeks or days\u2014no more than that. He\u2019s working well. I spoke with him and he was very tired because he\u2019s doing double sessions.\u201c<\/p>\n

With Santos set to play six matches over the next 21 days, including the start of the Brasileir\u00e3o, the Argentine coach raised expectations surrounding Neymar\u2019s comeback. \u201cWe have many games in a short span, but I see Neymar very committed to being ready as soon as possible and helping his boyhood club,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

\"\" Santos head coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda. <\/p>\n

Neymar underwent arthroscopic surgery to address a meniscus injury on December 22 and missed the team\u2019s preseason at the start of 2026. As Vojvoda noted, the forward has been completing double training sessions under the supervision of his personal physiotherapist, Rafael Martini, accelerating a recovery that was initially projected for mid-February.<\/p>\n

According to Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, Neymar could return in one of Santos\u2019 upcoming derby matches against S\u00e3o Paulo. The first meeting, a Campeonato Paulista clash on January 31, is considered unlikely, while the February 4 Brasileir\u00e3o Matchday 2 fixture at Vila Belmiro is viewed as the ideal scenario for Neymar to gradually regain match fitness.<\/p>\n

Neymar loses key player at Santos <\/p>\n

After avoiding relegation and securing qualification for the Copa Sudamericana, Santos\u2019 board has focused on strengthening the squad around Neymar with signings such as Gabriel Barbosa, known as \u201cGabigol.\u201d However, ahead of the 2026 season, the Peixe suffered a significant setback as one of their top young players completed a move to the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Tottenham Hotspur have officially announced the signing of left back Souza from Santos. The 19-year-old had emerged as one of the club\u2019s brightest prospects and one of the most promising talents in Brazilian soccer, attracting interest from several European sides before the London club finalized the deal for \u20ac15 million (approximately $18 million).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neymar was one of the defining figures of last season in the Brasileir\u00e3o, delivering strong performances despite battling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,146761,110596,561,82],"class_list":["post-433427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-neymar","tag-santos","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}