Brazil will be without its biggest star for next year's Copa América in the United States.
Neymar will miss the tournament as he continues to recover from a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee, Brazilian team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told Rede 98 on Tuesday. The 31-year-old forward suffered the injury during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Oct. 17.
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"It's too early," Lasmar said. "There's no point in skipping steps to recover sooner and taking unnecessary risks. Our expectation is that he will be prepared to return at the start of the 2024 season in Europe, which is August."
Brazil, which was the runner-up at the 2021 Copa América, is in Group D for the 2024 edition with Colombia, Paraguay and the winner of a playoff between Costa Rica and Honduras. The competition goes from June 20-July 14 with matches scheduled at 14 venues across the U.S.
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Neymar joined Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal in August for a $98.6 million fee. He made just five appearances with the club before his injury, and he is taking a long-term outlook with his recovery.
"We need to be patient," Lasmar said. "Talking about a return before nine months is premature, this is a global concept for knee ligament surgeries recovery. It is very important to respect the biological time, the time the body takes to reconstruct that ligament.
"If we follow those steps and after a long recovery, the expectation is that he can perform again at a high level."
