Brazilian superstar Neymar is set to miss the 2024 Copa America due to the knee injury he suffered on international duty back in October.
Neymar suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty with Brazil and subsequently underwent surgery in November. It had been thought that the forward could potentially return in time for next summer's Copa America but those hopes have now been dashed by Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar, who carried out the surgery.
He told Rede 98: "It's too early. 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.
"We need to be patient. 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."
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