Neymar injured as Santos crash out of Copa do Brasil, blasts pitch conditions

Neymar walked off the field in tears and didn't even wait to reach the locker room to vent. Santos' elimination against Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals left behind a painful image: the star injured in the first half, watching from the sideline as his team fell out of the tournament, and minutes later an Instagram story in all caps, full of frustration, aimed squarely at one target: the Vila Belmiro turf.

The match ended 0-0, but the aggregate went to Palmeiras, 3-0 (Santos hadn't played the first leg). With the tie already decided beforehand, what made headlines was the state of the playing field and the three muscle injuries suffered by Peixe in just 45 minutes: Neymar's, Argentine Álvaro Barreal's and Lucas Veríssimo's.

Neymar held nothing back. In his story, he went straight after the person in charge of maintaining the pitch: "I want to congratulate our groundskeeper at Vila Belmiro... Yesterday was the WORST PITCH VILA HAS EVER HAD, FULL OF HOLES, because they did the compacting the day before the match." He kept going, growing more heated: "UNBELIEVABLE! On top of playing against the opponent, we're playing against the field... and we have to work even harder to start and stop while running because the field is uneven."

For the Brazilian, it was no coincidence that three players felt discomfort on the same night: "It was no coincidence that 3 guys felt something in the first half... CONGRATULATIONS! GREAT DAMN JOB."

On the other side, coach Cuca tried to play down the issue in his post-match press conference, though he admitted the packed schedule had taken its toll. "It was a risk I had to take. If I had subbed off the players who got hurt today, people would be demanding our disqualification," he explained. He added: "These are risks we have to accept. Unfortunately, we lost players because playing Sunday and Wednesday at this intensity is tough."

In the end, we lost Neymar, Barreal and Veríssimo, and now we have to lean on the strength of the group. But let's hope their injuries aren't serious and that they recover as soon as possible.Cuca

Could he miss the Sudamericana quarterfinals?

Neymar felt discomfort in his right hamstring, didn't return for the second half and was replaced by Rony, while Gabigol took over as team captain. Cuca is already bracing to play without him: "That's the reality. It's not the situation we want; Neymar will probably be out. We'll have to manage without him, just like we did when he was at the World Cup and we played well. We'll get back to work on that."

The question now is whether the Brazilian will be fit for the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals against Atlético Mineiro, set for Wednesday, September 9 and Wednesday, September 16. Neymar has 8 goals in 24 matches in 2026 wearing the Santos jersey, a club sitting fourteenth in the Brasileirao with 29 points from 24 matchdays, not quite close to relegation but not far enough from an international spot either. With the table so tight, every match matters, and losing their star man to injury is exactly what Peixe didn't need.