Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said Neymar can be an important part of his team for next year's World Cup, but he first needs to prove he is in "good physical condition."
Neymar, Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, hasn't played for the national team since October 2023, when he tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee.
The 33-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward was excluded from both of Ancelotti's Brazil squads so far amid ongoing injury issues since his return to boyhood club Santos in January.
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Neymar has disputed Ancelotti's account that he was omitted from the squad for September's World Cup qualifiers due to fitness concerns, saying he "was left out for technical reasons, it has nothing to do with my physical condition, it's the coach's opinion and I respect it."
Ancelotti, though, said it is Neymar's fitness and not his talent, that will decide if he has a place in Brazil's squad.
"We are not going to observe how Neymar plays, obviously. Everyone knows his talent," Ancelotti told ESPN Brasil's Pedro Ivo Almeida. "In modern football, to take advantage of his talent, the player has to be in good physical condition. If he is in his best physical condition, he will have no problems being in the national team.
"Everyone wants Neymar in the national team in good physical condition. I spoke with him, and I said 'you have time to prepare in the best way to be there and help the team try to do their best in the World Cup.'"
Neymar has previously played in both wide and central attacking roles but Ancelotti said he thinks the player now lacks the physical requirements to play as a wide forward.
"I spoke with him. He came to the hotel before the game against Paraguay [in June] and we talked about it," the former Real Madrid boss added. "Everything is clear, the idea remains the same.
"[I would select him] as an attacking midfielder or striker, he has to play centrally, he can't play on the outside because modern football needs forwards who have physical quality, it's very important. He can play as an attacking midfielder without problems."
Brazil secured their qualification for the 2026 World Cup in June but finished their qualifying campaign on Tuesday with a 1-0 loss to Bolivia to finish a disappointing fifth in the South American qualifying table.
But Ancelotti, who signed a one-year contract in June, said he is still eagerly anticipating next year's finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico and is open to the possibility of staying through the next World Cup cycle.
"Preparing the World Cup for Brazil is something special," he said.
"I signed the one-year contract. After the World Cup, everything is open. I believe that at that moment it was right to sign the one-year contract. I have no problem if the CBF wants to continue. There is no problem.
"As I said, I am very happy here, my family is happy too. We can think about it. We have time to talk about this, I have no problem continuing. It would be nice [to stay until 2030]."