Neymar Undergoes Surgery in Final Push for World Cup

Neymar Jr is running out of World Cups. He knows it. Brazil knows it. So the Santos idol has chosen the hardest route of all: another operation, another rehab, another race against the clock.

Determined to be fit for what is expected to be his last appearance on football’s biggest stage, Neymar has once again turned to surgery in a bid to rescue a body that has absorbed more punishment than most.

Speaking before Santos’ Copa Sudamericana opener against Cuenca, coach Cuca revealed the latest step in that fight.

“Neymar underwent knee surgery during the FIFA international break. He hasn’t trained. He spent a few days recovering from the operation,” Cuca said, outlining just how far the forward is willing to go.

This is not a new injury, but a renewed attempt to fix an old one. After the end of the last Brazilian league season, Neymar opted for knee surgery on medical advice, seeking stability and relief in a joint that has repeatedly betrayed him at crucial moments.

Now, only months later, he has gone back to the operating theatre.

According to reports in Spain, the Santos star has undergone regenerative treatment using platelet-rich plasma, a technique designed to strengthen damaged tissue and give his knee a better chance of surviving the demands of elite competition. For a player who built a career on sharp changes of direction and explosive acceleration, the stakes could not be higher.

The timing is no coincidence. Neymar chose to have the procedure during the international break, a window he had initially hoped would see him back in the Brazil squad. Instead of minutes on the pitch, he has accepted more days on the treatment table.

From here, the plan is clear. He has embarked on a tailored recovery programme, calibrated not for next week or next month, but for the final stretch before the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Every session, every drill, every rest day will be measured against a single objective: arriving at that tournament in one piece and in shape to influence it.

There is also a manager to convince. With Brazil now under the command of Carlo Ancelotti, competition for places in the 26-man squad will be fierce. Neymar’s name once felt automatic on any list. Today, it has to be earned again.

Form, fitness, trust – all three will decide whether Ancelotti sees room for a veteran star with a fragile knee and an undimmed sense of occasion.

Neymar has made his choice. He will gamble on science, on rehab, and on time. The question now is whether his body, and his new national-team coach, will let him write one last World Cup chapter.