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By LUKE AUGUSTUS, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Published: 21: 07 AEDT, 10 March 2026 | Updated: 21: 07 AEDT, 10 March 2026 2 View comments Neymar's hopes of participating at the upcoming World Cup have taken a worrying blow after suffering another injury setback. On Monday, the 34-year-old was named in Brazil's preliminary squad for their friendlies against France and Croatia on March 26 and 31 - with the official squad to be announced on March 16. However, it proved to be a tumultuous day for the forward who will be absent for his live audition in front of Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti on Tuesday after being withdrawn from Santos' Brazilian Serie A match at Mirassol with lingering muscle fatigue. Ancelotti was making the 268-mile trip from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paolo to watch Neymar in person to see how fit he truly is. The Italian has made it clear he will only select players who are fully fit and can meet Brazil's physical demands as they bid to win a record-extending sixth World Cup this summer. Despite Neymar's unavailability, Ancelotti is sticking with his plan to attend the match. Santos said Neymar's absence was precautionary and is expected to be available for Sunday's home encounter against Corinthians. However, Ancelotti will be attending Botafogo versus Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro that day, with his assistant coaches assigned to monitor the Santos game instead. Neymar has been withdrawn from Santos' match with Mirassol due to lingering muscle fatigue Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti (centre) was attending the match to watch Neymar to see his fitness Neymar (pictured in October 2023) has aspirations to play for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup After the weekend's fixtures, Ancelotti will then name his squad for this month's international period. Neymar, Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances, has not played for his country since October 2023, when he suffered serious knee ligament injuries that have hampered his comeback. Since returning to boyhood club Santos from Saudi Arabia in January 2025, he has shown flashes of his old form but has struggled to string together a consistent run of matches. Brazil's attacking options include several in-form players such as Vinicius Jr, Estevao, Raphinha, Joao Pedro, Gabriel Martinelli, Endrick, Igor Jesus and Matheus Cunha.
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