Neymar injury: Brazil legend has another setback with Santos
Updated Sept. 6, 2026, 11:54 a.m. ET
After suffering an injury in Santos’ goalless draw against Palmeiras on Wednesday, Neymar has been ruled out for up to eight weeks with a significant muscle injury.
The star forward suffered the injury in the first half of the Copa do Brasil match, ultimately getting subbed out at halftime. O Peixe’s draw would see them eliminated from the competition following a 3-0 aggregate defeat.
On the way to the locker room, Neymar was seen in tears after another suffering another setback.
One day after the match, the club announced on social media that the 34-year-old was diagnosed with a type 2B muscle injury to the recetus femoris in his right thigh.
Typical recovery time for the injury is between four and eight weeks.
Following his injury, Neymar was also critical of the conditions of the pitch at Vila Belmiro, stating his thoughts on social media via his Instagram stories.
“I would like to congratulate our stadium grounds manager at Vila Belmiro… Yesterday the grounds were in the worst shape ever seen, full of holes because they decompacted the pitch 1 day before the game. UNBELIEVABLE!!! In addition to playing against an opponent, we also had to play against the pitch…and on top of that we had to use more force to start and stop because the pitch is so irregular. It was not for nothing that 3 fell in the first half.”
Neymar’s illustrious career has been riddled with a plethora of injury spells, both at the club and international level.
During the 2026 World Cup campaign, the all-time leading scorer for Brazil worked his way back from injury to feature in the competition, playing in three matches and scoring a late penalty in their 2-1 elimination loss against Norway.
After that defeat, Neymar indicated he had played his final game with Brazil.