Belo Horizonte
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has jokingly described injured football star Neymar as the national team’s first “work-from-home player” as Brazil continue to wait for the forward’s return at the FIFA World Cup.
Lula made the remark during an event in Belo Horizonte announcing new investments for Brazil’s public health system. The president was interacting with a young audience member when the conversation turned to football and the national team’s biggest star.
When asked who he believed was Brazil’s best player, the child replied “Neymar,” prompting laughter from Lula.
“Neymar isn’t even playing. Neymar is the world’s first work-from-home national team player,” the president joked, referring to the striker’s prolonged absence from action due to injury.
The comments quickly attracted attention across Brazil, where Neymar’s fitness has become a major talking point during the World Cup campaign. The 34-year-old has not featured in the tournament after suffering a calf injury about a month ago.
Neymar missed Brazil’s opening Group C match, a 1-1 draw against Morocco, and was also unavailable for the team’s 3-0 victory over Haiti. While the squad travelled to Philadelphia for that fixture, the forward remained at Brazil’s training base in New Jersey, continuing an individual rehabilitation programme.
The former FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star has been undergoing intensive recovery work, including twice-daily training sessions designed to accelerate his return. On Saturday, he participated in physical and ball-control drills alongside left-back Alex Sandro, who is also recovering from injury.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the Haiti victory that Neymar would be reintegrated into the squad ahead of the final group-stage match against Scotland. However, he stopped short of guaranteeing the forward’s availability.
Ancelotti is expected to assess Neymar’s condition during training sessions on Monday and Tuesday before making a final decision.
Brazil, currently in a strong position in Group C, hope their talismanic No. 10 can return in time to boost their campaign as the tournament moves toward the knockout stages.
