Neymar denies injury was reason for Brazil snub

"It was some swelling I had in my adductor, some discomfort, but it was nothing serious, so much so that I played today," Neymar said. "I wasn't going to play against Bahía anyway [on Aug. 24], so they preferred to save me some training sessions, to leave me out so I could recover. "I 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. Since I'm out, we'll just have to support the team."

"Ancelotti last week blamed a "minor injury" for not calling up the Santos star, saying he "didn't need to test" the veteran in any case, and that he "needed to be in a good physical condition" to be considered for selection."

Carlo Ancelotti said a "minor injury" prevented a call-up for Neymar and that the forward "didn't need to test" and "needed to be in a good physical condition" to be considered. Neymar played 90 minutes in Santos' 0-0 draw with Fluminense and said he had some swelling and discomfort in his adductor but nothing serious. Neymar added he was always going to miss the Bahía match and was rested to recover, and said his omission was for technical reasons unrelated to his fitness. Brazil host Chile and visit Bolivia in upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Ancelotti named a 25-man squad including several attacking options. Neymar returned to Santos after leaving Al Hilal.

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