Wesley out – Brazil has replaced right back Wesley with midfielder Éderson after Wesley injured a muscle in his left thigh and was ruled out ahead of the World Cup opener against Morocco.
The timing landed like a blow to Brazil’s preparations: right after Wesley went down early in the team’s friendly against Egypt, the injury follow-up has now pushed him out of the World Cup.
The Brazilian soccer confederation said Sunday that Wesley injured a muscle in his left thigh. He left early in the friendly game against Egypt on Saturday night in Cleveland, and imaging later determined the problem was serious enough to knock him out of the World Cup.
With less than a week until Brazil’s first match, Brazil has moved quickly—adding midfielder Éderson to the 26-player roster. Éderson, 26, is set to join the team in the U.S. as part of the World Cup squad.
The confederation also framed the change as more than a roster edit. Wesley, it said, is “an athlete loved by the group and will always be considered part of this team that seeks the six-time world championship.”
Brazil’s World Cup opener arrives on Saturday in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the schedule places the team against Morocco.
But the roster reshuffle is happening while another uncertainty remains unresolved. A separate injury issue is still ongoing with 34-year-old forward Neymar. He did not travel to Cleveland with the rest of the group, and Neymar is currently sidelined because of a calf injury.
In the span of a single week, Brazil has lost one piece of its back line to a thigh injury and has kept one of its key attacking figures on the sidelines with a calf problem—forcing the team to balance urgency with continuity as the tournament clock keeps moving.
Brazil Wesley Éderson Neymar World Cup Morocco injury replacement thigh injury calf injury Meadowlands East Rutherford
Damn that sucks. Hopefully he heals up before the next game.
Wait so Brazil replaced him with a midfielder?? Like that’s not even the same position, they really just scrambling huh. I saw this and thought Neymar was also injured in the thigh too for some reason lol
I don’t get why this happened right before the opener. If he got hurt early vs Egypt then they should’ve known more than “imaging later” like come on. Also Neymar not traveling means he’s done for the whole tournament right? Sounds like Brazil is cooked
So Wesley left early in Cleveland and then boom out of the World Cup like that? That feels super abrupt. Meanwhile they add Éderson and act like it’s some big heartfelt thing, but it’s still a loss of a defender. Meadowlands vs Morocco, great time to be missing people… I swear injuries always happen the week before, like the universe hates Brazil