Neymar recovering well, could play in Brazil's World Cup opener: Ancelotti

Brazil's star forward Neymar is on the mend from a calf injury, with national team coach Carlo Ancelotti expressing confidence in his swift recovery. Ancelotti stated that Neymar could even be ready for Brazil's opening World Cup match next month, alleviating concerns about potential squad replacements.

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He’s working well, and he’s in good spirits ... We believe he can be ready for the first World Cup match. If he’s not ready for the first match, he’ll be ready for the second. So we have absolutely no intention of replacing anyone.

Neymar, Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 128 international appearances, was initially ruled out of warm-up games due to the injury. However, Ancelotti indicated that the recovery process is progressing well and that the player is in good spirits. "We believe he can be ready for the first World Cup match. If he’s not ready for the first match, he’ll be ready for the second," the coach said.

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Before the squad announcement, we received a report from Santos saying the player had a minor issue, some swelling. We left Santos to deal with that situation until the 27th.

Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion, is preparing for the tournament where they will face Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland in Group C. The team is seeking to extend its record by winning a sixth title.

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Neymar was called up because, from the coaching staff’s point of view, he had to be called up. After the 27th, the CBF took over Neymar’s situation, and that’s what we’ve done. We’re managing Neymar’s recovery.