Neymar suffers ‘serious’ injury in fresh blow to World Cup hopes

Neymar has suffered a devastating knee injury that has effectively ended his career at Santos and leaves the Brazil ace’s prospects of reaching the World Cup hanging by a thread.

Physical issues have plagued the former Barcelona player since he completed a world record €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain from the Camp Nou side in 2017, with a succession of injuries devastating his effectiveness in the French capital.

Brazilian outlet Globo reports that he is “unlikely” to play again in 2025 due to a meniscus injury in his left knee, which will cause him to miss the remainder of the league season with Santos. Fabrizio Romano has described the issue as “serious”.

Neymar had been struggling since a clash against Mirassol on 19 November, and further tests have indicated the attacker will most likely miss the rest of the season.

After completing a move to Santos in January 2025, he has been plagued with issues. This will be his fourth significant complaint of year, during which he has been fighting back after nearly 18 months out after suffering an ACL rupture while playing with Al-Hilal.

This latest issue leaves his World Cup hopes more questionable than ever.

Ancelotti gives Neymar World Cup hope

Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazil coach, had not ruled out taking him to the competition when he spoke about the issue last week.

“Neymar is on the list of players who could be at the World Cup,” the former Real Madrid boss confirmed. “Now there are six months left until the final list. We’ll watch him and others and try not to make mistakes with the final squad.”

The Italian has also said that he will only call upon players in “peak physical condition”, however.

In the short term, it’s unclear where Neymar’s future lies. Although he scored seven goals in 25 games with Santos, his club are in the relegation zone and will struggle to justify retaining Neymar when he contract ends at the end of the year. According to Globo, his wage is “equivalent to that of five ‘regular’ players”.

Despite this, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that “several clubs” have called Neymar to understand his position on a short-term deal prior to the World Cup that they hope might be mutually beneficial.

Neymar’s serious injuries

This is Neymar’s 45th injury of his career and will be the 17th of his career that will see him ruled out for a period of one month or more.

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