Neymar's World Cup hopes have been hit after medical checks revealed the full extent of his calf injury.
The 34-year-old Santos forward, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, is expected to be sidelined for between two to three weeks after scans carried out by the national team’s doctor revealed a grade two muscle tear.
Neymar will miss Brazil’s two warm-up friendlies against Panama on Sunday and Egypt on 6 June and faces a race to be fit in time for their opening World Cup group game against Morocco on 13 June.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain playmaker initially played down the severity of the injury, sustained in Santos’ 3-0 defeat to Coritiba 11 days ago.
Brazil doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told a press conference: "After missing Wednesday’s training session to undergo imaging tests in Teresopolis, the MRI ruled out the initial hypothesis of a simpler issue.
"He arrived here at Granja (on Wednesday), underwent all the medical exams and we finished with an MRI that identified a grade two muscle injury in the calf, not just swelling."
Neymar has been dogged by injury issues in recent seasons and ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee while playing for Brazil against Uruguay in October 2023.
He has scored 79 goals in 128 appearances for Brazil and is hoping to appear at a fourth World Cup having featured at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
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