The new Brazilian coach Carlo Ancelotti regards Neymar as a very important player and has insisted on the injury-sensitive star “to prepare well” for the World Cup 2026.
“He has to prepare well and he has the time to do that,” said the Italian in an interview with the South -American football federation on Thursday.
“He is a very important player for us with regard to the World Cup,” Ancelotti added.
Neymar, 33, expanded his contract with Brazilian side Santos this week until the end of the year.
Neymar's career was chased by an injury and he only played 12 games in five months before Santos and scored three goals.
The top scorer of Brazil with 79 goals was missing in the first team of Ancelotti at the end of May.
With Neymar absented, five-time world champions Brazil qualified for next year's World Cup with a 1-0 win over Paraguay this month.