The club, which is fighting to stay in Brazilian Serie A, will be deprived of its star striker at a crucial moment of the season. Neymar’s return to his training club has not gone as planned, with the 33-year-old having been constantly hampered by injuries throughout the year.
Neymar, the crisis is getting worse
Neymar spent almost a year and a half on the sidelines at Al-Hilal after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligaments during a match with Brazil in September 2023. His high-profile move from Paris Saint-Germain to the Saudi Pro League turned into a nightmare and he eventually left the Middle East in January 2025 to return to his heart club, Santos.
The objective was to allow Santos to return to the elite of Brazilian football. At the same time, the Seleção star needed to benefit from valuable playing time to regain his form and be able to make his return to the selection. However, things did not go as planned. Although Neymar scored seven goals in 25 appearances in all competitions, he was regularly injured during his second spell at Santos. Repeated injuries have also delayed his return to the Brazilian national team and, with only one international break remaining in March before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, he is in a race against time to win over Carlo Ancelotti.
New Neymar injury
After holding Internacional to a draw (1-1) on Monday without their Brazilian striker, Santos coach Vojvoda spoke about Neymar’s new injury to journalists:
“He is expected to be present against Sport. I have to discuss with him, I am not physically by his side and I will respect his decisions. But he is determined to play, he still wants to be there. Before the match against Mirassol, he felt discomfort in his knee. He also felt it during the meeting. The next day the pain was very bad. We have matches every three days. With the trip, we will arrive at Santos tomorrow afternoon… He is a player we need for the three days and he will be valuable to us. He is our leader on the ground. He will be there. He felt that he would not be able to meet the demands of today’s match. »
