Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil's head coach, confirmed on 20 June, after Brazil beat Haiti 3-0 , that Neymar will train alone on 21 June, rejoin the full squad on 22 June, and be available for the Group C decider against Scotland on 24 June. 1 The captain returns from a grade-2 calf strain, a moderate muscle tear that usually needs around three weeks to heal, having missed the Morocco and Haiti fixtures .
Brazil and Morocco both lead Group C on four points, while Scotland sit third on three after losing 1-0 to Morocco on 19 June and need a win over Brazil to reach the knockouts, a stage they last reached at France 1998. Brazil, already on course to advance, will field a player short of match sharpness against a side with everything to play for.
The gamble sits in the calendar, not the call. Two days of full-team work cannot rebuild competitive fitness in a calf still inside its recovery window, and that profile, a muscle injury rushed back too soon, is the same class that wrecked Neymar's 2023 season at Al-Hilal. Brazil top the group on four points, so the sporting case for risking him in a match they may not need to win outright is thin. A fresh tear would cost them their best player just as the knockout rounds begin, the very moment the recovery was meant to protect.
