Rodrygo Sets Brazil Squad For 2026 World Cup Support Plan After Knee Injury
Rodrygo will travel to the United States this week to watch some of Brazil’s World Cup games while he continues recovering from a knee injury, a change that keeps the 25-year-old in the tournament picture as a supporter rather than a player. The forward said the injury suffered in March ruled him out months before the squad was announced, and that watching the brazil squad for 2026 world cup presentation without his name in it was difficult.
Rodrygo and Carlo Ancelotti
“Watching the squad presentation knowing I wasn’t in it was tough, but I have high hopes with Carlo Ancelotti in charge,” Rodrygo said. He added, “I am travelling to the United States this week to watch some of the Seleção’s games at the World Cup.”
He also said, “I’ll be continuing my daily treatment to recover from the knee injury I suffered in March,” making the trip a pause in routine rather than a return to full football duties. The Seleção forward said he did not expect to hear his name called by Ancelotti at the World Cup squad announcement.
Brazil Without Rodrygo
Rodrygo’s absence is sharper because he said he took part in the entire qualifying cycle, the Copa América and other matches. That run ended with him watching Brazil’s squad from outside after the injury took him out of the tournament just months before selection.
The 25-year-old linked his place in the national team to more than selection. “The Seleção Brasileira is synonymous with pride,” he said, adding that he feels proud to be Brazilian and to support a team he described as culture expressed as something beautiful, magical, joyful, united and hardworking.
2022 Penalty Memory
His World Cup memory already carries a hard edge. Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-final stage of the 2022 World Cup after Dominik Livakovic saved Rodrygo’s penalty, a moment that now sits alongside the injury as part of his recent tournament history.
For Brazil, the immediate shift is simple: one of the players involved through qualifying is out of the squad and will follow the games from the United States while staying on treatment. For Rodrygo, the next move is less about the pitch than keeping the recovery going while Brazil play on without him.
