Injured Neymar to miss 2024 Copa America in U.S.

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Neymar won't recover from a serious knee injury in time to play at the Copa America next summer, according to Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar.

"It's too early," Lasmar told Brazil's Rede 98, as translated by ESPN. "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."

The 2024 Copa America in the United States runs from June 20 to July 14.

The 31-year-old underwent surgery in October, two weeks after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay.

"We need to be patient," Lasmar added. "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."

Neymar shared a video of his rehabilitation Wednesday, appearing to be in tears during therapy sessions.

The injury brought an end to Neymar's debut season in Saudi Arabia after he joined Al Hilal last summer for around €90 million. Neymar, who's Brazil's all-time leading scorer, registered one goal in five appearances for the Saudi club.