Neymar sat out both of Brazil's pre-tournament friendlies, the win over Panama on 31 May and the match against Egypt on 6 June, with a grade-2 calf strain 1. A grade-2 strain is a moderate muscle tear, the middle of a three-level scale, and the same injury whose scan in May put Brazil's 13 June opener in doubt .
Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian managing Brazil, named Neymar in the final 26 over Rodrygo and Thiago Silva , and is now defending that call. He is targeting the second group match, against Haiti on 19 June, rather than the opener against Morocco on 13 June, and told ESPN he has no regrets about taking an injured forward. Best-case recovery returns Neymar around 11 June, two days before Morocco, which is too tight to risk a 34-year-old calf in a tournament opener.
Ancelotti is betting his timeline against the group stage. Hold Neymar to match two and Brazil protect their most fragile asset for the stage where the group is likely already shaped; rush him to the opener and one re-tear ends his tournament before it starts. Ancelotti has chosen the patient path, and the squad has given him reason to: the question of whether Brazil can score without Neymar was answered the same week, in Rio.
