Neymar Set for Knee Surgery After Avoiding Relegation with Santos

Marrakech – Santos’ 3-0 home victory over Cruzeiro in the last matchday of the Brasileirao season officially confirmed the Peixe would retain their spot in Brazil’s top-flight football league next year.

Despite poor form throughout most of the season, which saw Neymar’s – and previously Pele’s – boyhood club in a relegation battle, Santos hit a good run of form to close out their 2025 campaign.

Undefeated in their last six Brasileirao match-ups, with, notably, three consecutive victories to conclude the season, Santos finished 12th in the league table with 47 points, only four more than 17th-placed Ceara, the highest finishing relegated club.

At the heart of this salvage operation was Santos’ star-man: Neymar. Playing through a meniscus injury to avoid Santos what would have been its second relegation in club history: the forward registered six goal involvements in Santos’ last four matchdays, including a hat-trick against Juventude on December 3, pulling his club out of the relegation zone.

Santos have avoided relegation from the Brasileirão.
Captain Neymar had five goals and one assist in his last four games, helping them to safety despite playing through an injury.
Heroic 👑🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/UZFJKH9WMt
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 7, 2025

Following his side’s victory last night, an emotional Neymar sounded off on the challenge Santos had just overcome, as well as his off-season plans.

“I came for this, to try to help in the best way I can. These have been difficult weeks for me,” the Brazilian star told reporters. “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.”

Neymar is set to receive arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during the off-season, per ESPN. The procedure will aim to address the meniscus injury Neymar has been carrying in recent weeks.

The surgery could jeopardize Neymar’s participation in the 2026 World Cup. Although no timeline has been confirmed, arthroscopic surgeries typically require at least a couple of months of recovery, which casts a doubt on whether Neymar will be fit to feature in Brazil’s squad in around six months.

Brazil’s head-coach, Carlo Ancelotti, commented on a potential Neymar World Cup call-up in a press conference following the World Cup final draw, on December 5.

“If Neymar deserves to be there, if he’s in good form, better than anyone else, he will play in the World Cup, end of story,” Ancelotti said.

Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances, has not featured for La Selecao since October 2023 due to a series of injury and fitness-related issues. The forward, who missed Brazil’s last match-up against Morocco due to an ankle injury, will hope to feature in his side’s tournament opener against the Atlas Lions on June 13, 2026, in what would be his fourth career World Cup.