Neymar appeared on the pitch at the Columbia Park training center for the first time this Tuesday (16). Since the Brazilian team arrived in the United States, he had not yet participated in any activity on the field.
Wearing sneakers instead of boots, number 10 did physical exercises, still without contact with the ball or the other players. At least, this does not appear in the images released by the CBF itself, which chose to close the training session to the press.
In general, journalists can follow the first 15 minutes of each activity, when athletes usually warm up.
This Tuesday, however, the technical committee chose to only allow visits from close relatives of each player, such as wives, children, fathers, mothers and brothers. They had access to the training held in the morning and, in the afternoon, went to The Ridge hotel, where the delegation is staying, for lunch.
Earlier, also at the hotel, Douglas Santos gave an interview and said that the group was “praying for Neymar to recover 100%”.
“He’s going to be a guy who’s going to help us a lot,” he said.
On Monday (15), the player had undergone new tests at a clinic in the New Jersey region to assess the recovery of the injury to his right calf. According to the CBF, the test was scheduled and was not motivated by any complications.
Despite his appearance during training this Tuesday, it is unlikely that Neymar will be available to Carlo Ancelotti for the Brazilian team’s second match in the World Cup, next Friday, against Haiti.
Three days before the clash in the second round of the first phase, it is unlikely that the player will be able to regain his game rhythm in time to be used against the Haitians.
This Wednesday (17th) the three-week period indicated by the Brazilian team’s doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, as necessary for the recovery of the grade 2 injury suffered by the player on the eve of Ancelotti’s call-up, announced on May 18th, would end.
The time was indicated the day after the players’ presentation at Granja Comary. The day before, the number 10 underwent an MRI exam which revealed a more serious injury than Santos had informed the CBF.
A big name for Brazil in the last three editions of the World Cup, the São Paulo native from Mogi das Cruzes spent almost three years away from the national team and was only called up by Ancelotti once. It was precisely the announcement of the athletes who would travel to North America, on May 18th.
