Neymar will miss Brazil’s second World Cup group-stage match against Haiti in Philadelphia on Saturday.The 34-year-old also sat out his side’s opening 1-1 draw against Morocco on June 13 after suffering a calf injury ahead of the tournament, having been named in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup.Brazil’s national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said on May 28 that Neymar, who has not featured for the international side since late 2023, would miss “two to three weeks” with the muscle injury.That timescale would have placed him in contention to be involved in Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s game against Haiti, but he is now set to miss that game, the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) told The Athletic. Neymar will not travel with his team-mates to Philadelphia, and instead will continue his recovery process in New Jersey, the CBF added.Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer — 79 goals in 129 international appearances — but has had several injury issues in recent seasons and ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee in October 2023.Ahead of the tournament, Neymar missed his most recent two matches at club level for Santos — a 2-2 draw against San Lorenzo in the Copa Sudamericana on May 20 and a 3-2 defeat to Gremio in Brazil’s Serie A three days later, on May 23.Brazil conclude their group-stage fixtures against Scotland on June 24 in Miami.Neymar, formerly of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, returned to Santos in January 2025 after leaving Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, scoring 17 goals in 43 appearances.Fresh setback puts scrutiny on AncelottiAnalysis by football writer Jack LangThis has the potential to turn into a public relations nightmare for Brazil.Neymar was a divisive pick in the first place. When Ancelotti did name him in his 26-man squad, many in Brazil felt that he was going against his own, repeated insistence that he would only select players who were 100 per cent fit.He had mostly said that about Neymar himself. And while the forward did, in fairness, put together a run of games in April and May, he was carrying a calf injury when he arrived at Brazil’s training camp. The issue turned out to be more significant than the Brazil hierarchy had assumed, but they decided to let the situation play out.Neymar missing the pre-tournament friendlies was not ideal but not a huge deal either. The first game against Morocco … well, that felt like a line. Now that he looks set to miss the Haiti game as well, Ancelotti is going to come under a huge amount of scrutiny.If Brazil’s World Cup is anything less than a success from this point, Neymar-gate is going to dominate the post-mortem and rightly so.Jun 18, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms