Neymar Returns to Training with Brazil Amid Injury Recovery

Neymar took a few careful strides along the touchline in Morristown on Tuesday, and for Brazil, it felt like a small earthquake.

After a month locked in the gym with a right calf injury, the 34-year-old finally traded machines for grass, stepping out in boots for his first on-pitch work since the squad landed in New Jersey. No sprints. No tricks. Just measured running on the sidelines. Yet for a country clinging to the hope of one more great act from its star, the sight was enough.

The Brazil Football Confederation called it “another step in his recovery process,” and this time the words were backed by images. In footage released by the CBF, Neymar moved through his first running drills since the setback, shadowed closely by a member of Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching staff. Every stride looked like it had been planned, monitored, weighed.

This is not a routine knock. Neymar arrived in camp carrying a Grade II muscle injury in his right calf, suffered on May 17 while playing for Santos. It forced Brazil’s medical team into a delicate balancing act: protect the muscle, but keep the player engaged; keep him close to the group, but away from real risk. The diagnosis demands caution, not bravado.

He made the final tournament roster anyway, a decision that underlines his status in this squad. Yet the questions have never really stopped. Can he be trusted physically? How much can he actually give? Brazilian outlets have reported that the medical staff are working off a long-range timetable, with one clear target — the knockout stages. That approach all but rules him out of the remaining Group C games against Haiti and Scotland.

On Monday, Neymar underwent fresh medical examinations to assess how well the muscle is healing, according to ESPN. The CBF has not publicly detailed those results, a silence that only sharpens the sense of a race against time.

For now, his role is that of a high-profile spectator. He watched from the bench, out of kit, during Brazil’s flat 1-1 draw with Morocco on Saturday, still deep in rehabilitation mode. Ancelotti, though, has been unwavering in his public stance: Neymar is not here as a mascot.

“Neymar is working very hard to recover as soon as possible,” the coach said before that match. “Our expectation is that he will recover and rejoin the group next week. When we included him in the roster, we added him for his technical abilities, which are indisputable. But we also want him for his experience and the example he sets for the young players on the team.”

That last point matters. This World Cup is not just another tournament for Neymar; it is the next chapter in a career increasingly defined by comebacks. He has not played for the senior national team since October 17, 2023, when an ACL and meniscus tear against Uruguay ripped up his plans and launched another long, lonely rehab. Across various injuries and recovery cycles, he has spent close to 700 days on the sidelines in recent years. Every return has carried weight. This one feels heavier than most.

The plan, as it stands, is patience. No rush for Haiti on Friday. No gamble for a group-stage cameo that might jeopardize everything. Brazil want Neymar for the moments that decide tournaments, not group tables.

For now, the image is simple: a superstar on the outer edge of training, running in straight lines, watched by cameras and a nation that still believes his story with the seleção isn’t finished yet.