Neymar is currently battling a calf injury that has left him sidelined at the Fifa World Cup tournament. He had been expected to return to training with his team Brazil before their clash with Haiti in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, June 20. However, he has not yet joined his teammates and reports suggest he’s undergoing further tests to determine the extent of his injury, which he picked up during a match with his club Santos FC in May.
Brazil’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti previously insisted he hopes the star will be able to return to training this week.
Speaking during a press conference on Saturday, Ancelotti said: “Neymar is working very hard to recover as quickly as possible. The expectation is that he can rejoin the group [training] next week.”
Neymar jnr is sidelined with a calf injury and remains a doubt for Brazil’s second World Cup match, which is against Haiti on Saturday. Photo / Getty Images
This is Neymar’s fourth World Cup and he has previously suggested it will be his last. Before the tournament, he changed his Instagram profile picture to an image of himself with the caption: “The last dance”.
Another post showed him wearing the team’s shirt and was shared with the caption: “Thank you, my God … thank you for letting me experience this again”.
Neymar has scored 79 goals for his country during previous international appearances.