Neymar To Undergo Knee Surgery After Helping Santos Avoid Relegation

Neymar has confirmed that he is set to undergo knee surgery after playing through the pain to help Santos avoid relegation in the Brazilian League.

The 33-year-old returned to his childhood club Santos in January after a stint in Saudi Arabia and had a crucial impact in his team’s survival in the Brazilian top flight, scoring five goals in the last four matches.

He delivered a series of standout performances: scoring in a 3–0 win over Sport Recife, firing a hat-trick against Juventude in another 3–0 result, and acting as the creative heartbeat in the decisive victory over Cruzeiro at Vila Belmiro.

Neymar struggled with injuries, playing just 20 out of the 38 matches.

He has confirmed that he is set to undergo knee surgery.

Neymar said: “I came for this, to try to help the best way I can. These have been tough weeks for me.

“I thank those who were with me to lift me up. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have played these matches because of these injuries, this knee problem. I need to rest and then we will have this knee surgery.”

He did not provide details on the surgery or a timeline on his expected recovery.

Neymar has not featured for Brazil in two years due to a succession of injuries.

In October, national team head coach Carlo Ancelotti said the forward must regain full fitness if he is to earn a recall to the squad for the June 11 to July 19 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Neymar is Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances.