Santos coach Cuca has revealed that Neymar underwent a knee procedure during the international break to “be raring to go” leading up to the World Cup in June.
Neymar, 34, was left out of Brazil‘s squad for last month’s World Cup warmups against France and Croatia.
The Brazilian forward missed Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Flamengo having previously started for Santos in a 2-0 win over Remo on April 2.
“During the break we had, he underwent a procedure on his knee, so he didn’t train,” Cuca said of Neymar.
“He spent four or five days recovering from that. He worked on some of the fitness targets he needed to meet.
“This week he’s been working on strength, speed and endurance. He’ll be raring to go for the 13 consecutive matches remaining until the [next international] break. So we’ve used this time, working with the coaching staff and the medical team, to top up his energy levels and keep going until the middle of the year.”
While Cuca did not reveal what type of procedure Neymar had done, reports said the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star had a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, which involves using the player’s own blood to regenerate tissue and aid in the healing of micro-injuries.
Neymar has struggled with fitness issues since he tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee on October 2023 while playing for Brazil.
He underwent minor surgery on his left knee on Dec. 22.
Despite returning to the pitch and playing for Santos in recent months, his displays have yet to convince national team coach Carlo Ancelotti that he should be in the squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals and has played at three World Cups.
