Why Neymar didn't play in Santos' semi-final game against Corinthians?

His team were eliminated from the competition as they lost 2-1.

Neymar missed his side’s game against Corinthians as he was not fit enough to play the game. His absence did affect Santos, who were eliminated from the competition.

As he observed Santos’ loss to Corinthians in the Paulista Championship semi-final on Sunday, Neymar’s annoyance was evident. Due to a left thigh injury, the star attacker was unable to play a part in his team’s 2-1 defeat.

Since returning to Santos, the former Barcelona star, who is 33 years old, has spent the week receiving treatment after suffering the injury in the previous quarterfinal encounter against Bragantino. The player missed this crucial tie as he was unable to fully recover in time to play. He shared his profound displeasure on Instagram after the game.

Recently for the first time in eighteen months, Neymar was called up to the Brazil national team, and now the player will look to get fit before the World Cup qualifiers.

🚨 Neymar Jr was not fit with discomfort as he wasn’t available for Santos last night.“Unfortunately I felt some pain in the recent weeks… I really wanted to help the team, then we made tests in the morning but I felt pain again”, Neymar says 😞🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/d9mZwzWG0U

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 10, 2025

“Unfortunately I felt some pain in the recent weeks… I really wanted to help the team, then we made tests in the morning but I felt pain again”, Neymar said after the 2-1 defeat.

“Neymar felt discomfort,” stated Santos coach Pedro Caixinha after the match. “He wasn’t able to participate. My request was for him to be with the group. He suffered greatly not being able to play today.

”The focus was on Neymar’s discomfort. When a player feels something that could lead to pain, I won’t take any risks. You must communicate directly with the player. We will do everything we can to prevent Neymar from getting injured. He felt discomfort and wasn’t able to give his best.” 

The coaching staff at Santos consider Neymar’s condition to be moderate and are not particularly concerned about it. With their star player, who returned to Santos in January following his time in Saudi Arabia, they decided to be cautious. Neymar did join his teammates in the pregame warm-up on Sunday before he became a spectator.

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