Neymar Stays Behind in New Jersey as Brazil Faces Haiti Without Its Star

Neymar won’t be on the field when Brazil takes on Haiti in Philadelphia. The Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed Thursday that the 34-year-old forward will stay in New Jersey to keep working on his recovery from a lingering calf injury.

He already missed Brazil’s opening World Cup group match against Morocco, which ended in a draw. The team brought him to the tournament despite knowing he wasn’t fully healthy, and now they’re being cautious with their most famous player.

The CBF said Neymar will use the training facilities at The Ridge hotel and the Columbia Park complex to finish up his rehab before rejoining the squad. That means his earliest chance to actually play could come against Scotland in Miami next Wednesday. That’s Brazil’s last group stage game, and Carlo Ancelotti’s squad still needs results to guarantee a spot in the knockout round after the Morocco stalemate.

Another injury setback for a veteran star

Neymar hasn’t played in over a month. He picked up the calf problem while playing for Santos, and before that he hadn’t suited up for Brazil since October 2023. A string of injuries and inconsistent form kept him out of the national team picture for a long stretch, but Ancelotti still named him to the World Cup roster last month.

This would be Neymar’s fourth World Cup. He played in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and he’s been a central figure in each one. Back in 2014, he helped carry Brazil to the semifinals on home soil. Then he hurt his back and had to watch from the sideline as Germany put seven goals past his teammates in one of the most humiliating losses in the country’s history.

Four years later, Belgium knocked Brazil out in the quarterfinals. And in 2022, it was Croatia that ended their run on penalties at the same stage. Neymar was on the field for both of those exits, but he couldn’t change the outcome.

Now he’s stuck in New Jersey while his teammates try to get the job done without him. The group isn’t deep in this World Cup, but Brazil can’t afford another slip-up. Haiti will be desperate to make a statement, and without Neymar’s creativity in the attack, Ancelotti will need someone else to step up.

The good news for Brazil fans is that Neymar isn’t being ruled out for the rest of the tournament. If the team can get through the group stage, he could be back for the knockout rounds. But that’s a big if right now.