Vinícius Júnior excited about Neymar’s potential Brazil return

Vinícius Júnior has said he is excited about the possibility of Neymar returning to the Brazil squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.

Brazil will name their squad on Thursday, with Neymar expected to be included.

The 33-year-old has not played for Brazil since the country’s World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in October 2023 when he picked up a serious knee injury that kept him sidelined for a year.

“The expectation is great because he is the idol of our generation,” Vinícius said of Neymar to TNT Brasil.

He returned to boyhood club Santos in the January transfer window looking to rediscover his form after injuries limited him to only seven appearances in over 18 months at Saudi side Al Hilal.

Neymar revealed he is “getting back into my best physical shape” after scoring in Sunday’s 2-0 win against Bragantino, his third goal in his last four games for Santos.

“We are very happy that he returned to Santos,” Vinícius said. “That he has returned to score and that he is happy, which is always the most important thing.”

Neymar came off in the 76th minute of Sunday’s game with a thigh problem and had to receive treatment on the bench.

However, he later reassured fans that he is fine.

Brazil are fifth in their World Cup qualifying group, seven points adrift of leaders Argentina after 12 games.

Dorival Júnior’s side have won five and lost four of their qualifying matches.

Brazil have two games coming up, against Colombia in Brasilia on March 20 and the South American ‘classico’ against world champions Argentina in Buenos Aires five days later.

“It could be two wonderful games because it is against Colombia and Argentina,” Vinícius said.