Injured Neymar Jr. Makes Decision Ahead of Brazil’s Friendly Against Egypt

Neymar Will Not Travel To Cleveland

Now it's official. Neymar won't be making the trip to Cleveland with the rest of the squad. ESPN Brazil reported that the Brazilian federation confirmed he would stay back at the team's training base in New Jersey to continue his rehabilitation, undergoing physiotherapy and intensive treatment on the calf.

Brazil will face Egypt without him.

There is optimism inside the camp that he could return to group training as early as next week, if the recovery keeps moving in the right direction. A plan is already in place built around that timeline.

But the medical staff isn't being pushed into anything. No official return date has been set. They are assessing how he responds to each stage before moving to the next.

Calf injuries are hard to manage, and this one came at the worst possible time. Brazil's World Cup opener against Morocco is scheduled for June 13 in New Jersey. That's not far off.

What's next for Brazil

While Neymar works through his rehab away from the spotlight, the squad still has preparation to do. The Egypt friendly gives other attacking players a chance to push their case, though the bigger questions will keep circling back to New Jersey for now.

After Morocco, Brazil faces Haiti on June 19 and Scotland on June 24 to close out the group stage. On paper, it's a manageable draw. But showing up to a World Cup without your best player available from the jump is never the start anyone plans for.

The hope is that Neymar makes it. The timeline is tight, and everyone in camp knows it.