By Fernando Kallas
BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey, June 22 (Reuters) – Neymar could make his first appearance at this year’s World Cup in Brazil’s match against Scotland on Wednesday, with Carlo Ancelotti weighing whether the forward is fit enough to return after a calf injury that has kept him out of the finals so far.
The 34-year-old, recalled by Ancelotti after almost three years away from the national side, has yet to play at the tournament after suffering the injury more than five weeks ago.
His absence from Brazil’s opening two group matches against Morocco and Haiti only sharpened the intrigue around a player whose career has lurched from dazzling promise to a medical file thick enough to alarm even the most optimistic supporter.
Neymar last played for Brazil in 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.
Since then, he has been sidelined for more than 650 days by a string of injuries sustained during spells playing in Saudi Arabia and Brazil, where he returned to boyhood club Santos last year in an attempt to revive his career.
Instead, his comeback has been stop-start, with further injuries and fresh controversies interrupting his search for rhythm and sharpness.
This year he has scored six goals and provided four assists in 15 matches, while being carefully managed and never playing more than four consecutive games since returning from knee surgery in February.
His inclusion in Ancelotti’s squad sparked fierce debate in Brazil, largely because nobody seemed entirely sure when he would be fit — or what version of Neymar would emerge if he was.
NEYMAR BACK IN FULL TRAINING
After missing the matches against Morocco and Haiti, Neymar resumed full training last week. On Monday, he took part in his first tactical and team training under Ancelotti, who took over Brazil after leaving Real Madrid last year.
Teammate Gabriel Martinelli said Neymar looked ready.
“He’s performing at a very high level and you could see the intensity in today’s training session. You could see how keen he is to be with us, and his quality is unquestionable,” Martinelli told a press conference on Monday.
“Whether he’ll play or not is a question for the manager, but I think he’s in great shape.”
Brazil lead Group C on four points ahead of Morocco on goal difference. Scotland are third with three points.
After a flat first half in the 1-1 draw with Morocco, Brazil responded with a 3-0 win over Haiti and need a convincing display against the Scots to boost their chances of coming top.
Brazil will reach the Round of 32 as group winners if they win or draw versus Scotland and Morocco fail to beat Haiti.
Ancelotti also has a right wing headache, with Raphinha ruled out by a hamstring injury. Bournemouth youngster Rayan replaced him against Haiti, but Zenit St Petersburg’s Luiz Henrique is favourite to start.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, Editing by Ken Ferris)
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