Neymar returns to group training with Brazil, receives guard of honor from teammates

Neymar is back on the training pitch with Brazil, and his teammates made sure he knew they noticed. The forward rejoined group training around June 16, 2026, at the national team’s camp in Morristown, New Jersey, where players formed a guard of honor to welcome him back.

He’s been sidelined with a grade 2 right calf injury that kept him out of Brazil’s opening World Cup match, and his return to full fitness is still very much an open question.

The recovery road from Morristown

The sessions have been limited in scope, focusing on physical conditioning and controlled movements under close medical observation. He hasn’t participated at full intensity. Before this week, he’d been training alone, separated from the group entirely.

The Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed the training represented “another positive step forward” in his rehabilitation. Grade 2 calf injuries involve partial tearing of muscle fibers, and the timeline for full recovery can stretch weeks depending on severity and reinjury risk.

The priority, according to the federation, is ensuring complete fitness rather than rushing a return.

Neymar’s complicated history with crypto

Back in January 2022, Neymar purchased two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs for approximately $1.12 million, making him one of the most high-profile athlete adopters of digital collectibles during the boom.

His return to the global spotlight at the World Cup has generated some peripheral crypto activity. Unofficial Solana-based meme tokens referencing Neymar currently exist on-chain with market capitalizations below $3,000.

What this means for investors watching the intersection of sports and crypto

Tokens with sub-$3,000 market caps are essentially illiquid. A single trade of any meaningful size would move the price dramatically in either direction, which creates the illusion of volatility without any underlying substance.

The broader lesson from Neymar’s crypto journey, from his $1.12 million BAYC purchases to the current crop of micro-cap meme tokens bearing his likeness, is that celebrity association is not a thesis. It’s a catalyst at best and a trap at worst.

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