After successfully helping his home club FC Santos avoid relegation, Neymar had to go under the knife. The operation has now been successfully completed.
The end of the 2025 season in the Campeonato Brasileiro A was exciting – after all, in addition to the thrilling top-of-the-table clash between champions Flamengo and runners-up Palmeiras, FC Santos found themselves in a relegation battle. And in the end, they survived thanks to Neymar.
However, the traditional club from the port city in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo then announced that the team’s most famous player would have to undergo surgery on his left knee.
This has now been completed.
Eight goals in 20 appearances
This was officially announced by FC Santos on Monday. The 33-year-old underwent arthroscopy to treat an injury to his medial meniscus. “The operation was successful and the player is in good condition,” the statement said. The procedure was performed by the Brazilian national team’s doctor, who had operated on Neymar in the past.
The striker had a difficult season this year at his youth club, to which he had returned at the beginning of 2025. He was repeatedly hampered by injuries, but played a decisive role in the fight to avoid relegation, scoring eight goals in 20 league games, five of them in the last five games.
World Cup participation still up in the air
Neymar’s contract expires at the end of the year, but the club’s management is currently negotiating an extension. It remains to be seen whether the Seleçao’s record goalscorer (79 goals, two more than legend Pelé) will be at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
He last played for his home country, which will face Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland in Group C at next summer’s tournament, on October 17, 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury against Uruguay. Since then, he has not been nominated by the new Brazilian national coach Carlo Ancelotti, who recently said, among other things: “We have to think about Brazil, which can play with or without Neymar. I have very good players in attack.” He also said he needs “players who are 100% fit.” Neymar’s participation in the World Cup is therefore currently uncertain.