Three days before the duel with Scotland, in the final round of the World Cup group stage, Carlo Ancelotti leads a training session this Sunday (21) without the presence of eight starting athletes in the victory over Haiti. Only Alisson, Lucas Paquetá and Vinicius Junior appeared on the pitch.
In addition to the expected absence of Raphinha, who is recovering from an injury to the hamstring of his right thigh, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Douglas Santos, Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Matheus Cunha were also absent from the field. Everyone stayed inside the Columbia Park training center, doing regenerative activities.
As has been the case since last Wednesday (17), Neymar has participated in training with the squad since the beginning. He was part of the circle of fools and listened to the coaching staff’s instructions, which took place during the 15 minutes in which the press was able to follow the players’ work.
The expectation is that the number 10 will do his first full activity with his teammates today. The player is recovering from an injury to his right calf, suffered on the eve of the announcement of his squad for the World Cup, announced on May 18.
Shortly after the game against Haiti, in Philadelphia, Ancelotti stated that he hopes to have the striker return for the game against Scotland, on Wednesday (24).
“Neymar will train individually tomorrow [sábado] and then, on Monday, he will be with the team, prepared for the game against Scotland”, said the Italian as he left the Lincoln Financial Field, stage of the 3-0 victory over the Haitians last Friday (19).
The striker’s possible debut in the World Cup comes at a time of a significant decline in the Brazilian team’s offensive sector following Raphinha’s injury. Igor Thiago and Rayan, however, appear as the favorites to inherit the position. Endrick is another name mentioned.
Without indicating a deadline for Raphinha’s recovery, the CBF informed that the player is in an “intensive treatment protocol”. Even in milder, grade 1 muscle injuries, the time out of combat is usually at least ten days. Therefore, in an optimistic scenario, the 29-year-old player would return to play from the round of 16 onwards.
