The Brazil superstar has been in a race against time since his serious knee injury.
October 17, 2023, Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay. In first-half stoppage time of a World Cup qualifier between Uruguay and Brazil, Neymar turns in midfield and starts a dribble only to be contested by Nicolas De La Cruz.
After a tangle of legs initiated by the Uruguayan midfielder, Neymar plants his left leg to try to keep his feet only for his left knee to buckle and give way.
It’s obvious from that moment on that the Brazil superstar would be missing a long time with injury. Neymar’s hand is up appealing to the trainer before he even hits the ground.
The diagnosis was as bad as feared – a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus.
Neymar’s new employers, Saudi Super League club Al-Hilal, lost their €90 million (AU$146m) transfer after just five games. And it set the clock ticking on whether or not Neymar could return in time to compete at Copa America 2024.
While modern sports medicine and rehabilitation has returned the game’s top men’s footballers to the pitch with an eight to 10 month recovery time, Neymar was needing to fall right at the lower end of that time frame to make Brazil’s Copa America squad.
Brazil national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar had tempered expectations as far back as December 2023, projecting a return time of August 2024.
“There won’t be time, it’s too early, there’s no point skipping steps to recover sooner and taking unnecessary risks” Lasmar said at the time to Brazil radio station Radio 98 FM.
As a both a spiritual leader and on-field talent, Neymar will be desperately missed by Brazil at the Copa America. His 79 goals from 128 caps dwarfs the entire Brazil squad selected in his absence, not just the Selecao’s highest scorer Lucas Paqueta with 10, but the entire squad with 42 international goals combined.
While there is no shortage of attacking talent in the Brazil team, it isn’t represented in strike rate with leading lights Vinicius Jnr (29 caps, 3 goals), Rodrygo (22/5) and Gabriel Martinelli (10/2) all on the lighter side contributing goals.
It heaps plenty of pressure onto 17-year-old wonderkid Endrick, who has netted three times in his first five caps with England, Spain and Mexico an impressive trio of teams to have scored against.
The Prince Who Never Became A King
This name tag has followed Neymar through his career as each shortcoming at international tournaments and dissatisfaction with his club achievements stacked up.
When Neymar arrived at Barcelona from his Brazilian club Santos, he was unveiled to much fanfare in June 2013 before returning to his native Brazil to win the Confederations Cup and claim his first senior international trophy.
By the end of Neymar’s second season at Barcelona, he had a LALIGA title, and his first Champions League winners medal after he scored in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 win against Juventus.
And while domestic trophies did not dry up, the continental and international honours were few and far between.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil ended for Neymar in the quarter final against Colombia after a knee to the back from Juan Zuniga. Brazil would capitulate 7-1 to Germany in the semi-final in Neymar’s absence.
Brazil misfired at the 2015 Copa America in Chile, out on penalties to Paraguay in the quarter finals as Neymar scored only one goal for the tournament. Neymar then missed the Copa America Centenario a year later in the United States, instead playing at the Olympic Games as Brazil hosted in Rio De Janeiro.
There would be a level of redemption for Neymar at his home Olympics as he scored the decisive fifth penalty in the shoot-out of the gold medal game against Germany.
But to date, that is Neymar’s most recent international triumph, given he missed the 2019 Copa America with ruptured ankle ligaments suffered in a friendly against Qatar a week before the tournament.
Brazil would win as host in Neymar’s absence, breaking a 12-year, three tournament drought.
In 2021, Neymar would equal his best goal return at a Copa America by scoring twice, matching his tally from the 2011 tournament where he competed as a 19-year-old.
But Neymar would not score in the knockout stages as Brazil lost the final. Neymar played the full game in the 1-0 loss to Argentina, in front of just 7800 fans inside the covid-controlled 73,000 capacity Maracana.
Now that he will miss the 2024 Copa America, Neymar’s next chance to lift the trophy for the first time will not come until 2028, when he will be 36 years old.
Given his injury history, move to Saudi Arabia and Brazil’s wealth of potential successors in the attacking third, it may be a stretch to imagine Neymar making it to the 2028 tournament at a yet-to-be-determined host nation.