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Another setback for Neymar: muscle injury rules him out of Sudamericana as he criticizes Vila Belmiro pitch

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • Santos confirmed that Neymar suffered a grade 2B muscle injury in the rectus femoris of his right thigh and will miss four to eight weeks, according to the report.
  • The injury rules him out of Santos' Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal series against Atlético Mineiro after he was substituted during a 0-0 draw with Palmeiras.
  • Neymar criticized the poor condition of Vila Belmiro's pitch, while the report said three other Santos players also experienced physical problems during the match.

Neymar’s latest injury will keep him out of Santos’ Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals and add another interruption to a career increasingly marked by physical setbacks. The Brazilian forward suffered a grade 2B muscle injury in the rectus femoris of his right thigh, an injury that typically requires four to eight weeks of recovery.

Santos will face Atlético Mineiro in the first leg of the continental quarterfinals on Wednesday, with the return scheduled for Sept. 16. Neymar sustained the injury the previous Wednesday and left at halftime of Santos’ 0-0 draw with Palmeiras. That result confirmed Santos’ elimination from the Copa do Brasil after a 3-0 loss in the first leg.

The 34-year-old did not hold back when discussing the field at Vila Belmiro. “I wanted to congratulate the person responsible for the Vila Belmiro pitch. It was the worst surface the stadium has had, full of holes because they loosened the soil one day before the match. Unbelievable!” Neymar wrote on Instagram.

I wanted to congratulate the person responsible for the Vila Belmiro pitch. It was the worst surface the stadium has had, full of holes because they loosened the soil one day before the match. Unbelievable!

· NeymarHe criticized the condition of Santos’ home pitch after suffering his injury.

His frustration followed a match in which several Santos players experienced physical problems. Argentine Álvaro Barreal left in the 29th minute, while Igor Vinícius, Lucas Veríssimo and Neymar were substituted at halftime. Neymar added an ironic message: “Congratulations, right? Great shitty work.”

The report links the latest setback to a wider run of fitness problems since the serious injury Neymar suffered during Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers in October 2023. That injury affected his anticipated return to Santos in 2025 and contributed to his missing Brazil’s first matches at the 2026 World Cup, despite initial confidence from coach Carlo Ancelotti.

This season, Neymar has appeared in only 12 of Santos’ 24 Brasileirão matches, although he has six goals and three assists. He has also played in five of the club’s 10 Copa Sudamericana matches. Santos must now continue its campaign without its leading figure at the most demanding stage of the tournament.

Congratulations, right? Great shitty work.

· NeymarHe added an ironic social media remark about the Vila Belmiro field.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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