Brazil forward Neymar will miss the Copa America 2024 in the United States due to a serious knee injury sustained in October, confirmed Brazilian team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar on Tuesday. The 31-year-old Al Hilal star suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee during Brazil’s World Cup qualifying loss to Uruguay on October 17. Former FC Barcelona man went under the knife, two weeks later.
Lasmar, who conducted the surgery, stated that Neymar is not expected to regain fitness until August, emphasizing that they won’t rush the recovery process. The Copa America is scheduled to commence on June 20 and conclude with the final on July 14.
Neymar Jr set for a long recovery:
“It’s too early,” Lasmar explained to Brazil’s Rede 98. “There’s no point in skipping steps to recover sooner and taking unnecessary risks. Our expectation is that he will be prepared to return at the start of the 2024 season in Europe, which is August.“
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“We need to be patient. Talking about a return before nine months is premature; this is a global concept for knee ligament surgery recovery. It is very important to respect the biological time, the time the body takes to reconstruct that ligament.
“If we follow those steps and after a long recovery, the expectation is that he can perform again at a high level.”
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 129 appearances, will be a notable absence from the tournament. Brazil is placed in Group D alongside Colombia, Paraguay, and the winner of a playoff between Costa Rica and Honduras.
In a pre-tournament friendly, Brazil is set to face Mexico on June 8. The Copa América will be hosted by the U.S. for the second time, with six teams from Concacaf joining the 10 from South America.
Neymar joined Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League in August after six years at Paris Saint-Germain, in a transfer worth €90 million ($98.6 million). He made only five appearances for Al Hilal before sustaining the injury, scoring one goal.
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