Neymar's Injury Update: Expected to Return for Derby

Neymar given precautionary rest but expected to be fit for derby

Santos have breathed a sigh of relief over Neymar Jr. after the club captain missed tactical training with flu-like symptoms on Friday at CT Rei Pelé, just days before a high-stakes derby against Corinthians.

The forward was pulled out of the session on medical advice, with the staff choosing caution as Cuca’s side sharpened their plans for the trip to their fiercest local rivals. For a few hours, it raised the spectre of another big game without their talisman.

The club quickly moved to calm nerves with an official medical update.

“The athlete Neymar Jr. presented flu-like symptoms and was rested from Friday's (August 28) training session, following advice from the Health Department,” Santos confirmed, stressing the move was purely precautionary.

Reports indicate Neymar is expected back in training on Saturday and remains in contention to start the derby. Given his numbers this season, Santos can hardly afford anything else. The 28-year-old has driven the attack with nine goals and eight assists in 24 appearances, the reference point for everything Cuca’s side try to build in the final third.

Santos know exactly what it looks like when they have to cope without him. The Peixe were dismantled 3-0 by Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil when Neymar was absent, a defeat that still hangs over the club as they navigate a brutal stretch of fixtures.

Cuca’s problems do not end with his star forward’s health. The coach is already juggling a thin squad: Joao Schmidt is suspended after an accumulation of yellow cards, while Gabriel Menino is out with a knee sprain. Options in key areas are shrinking at the very moment the calendar tightens.

The timing could hardly be worse. Santos travel to Corinthians needing points to stay clear of the Campeonato Brasileiro relegation zone, which currently lurks just two points beneath them. One bad week and the season’s narrative changes completely.

And the derby is only the beginning.

After facing Corinthians, Santos must attempt the near-impossible: overturning a three-goal deficit against Palmeiras in the second leg of their Copa do Brasil quarter-final. It is a mountain, not a hill, and they will climb it knowing what happened the last time they faced Palmeiras without their captain.

That gruelling run then closes with a demanding away trip to Internacional before the domestic calendar pauses for the break. By the time that whistle blows in Porto Alegre, the question may be brutally simple: did Santos do enough, with Neymar leading them through the storm, to keep this season alive?