The Brazilian national team had already anticipated that Estêvão would be unavailable for the World Cup for several weeks, essentially since the diagnosis of a grade 4 tear in his right thigh on April 22. The situation was handled with delicacy and caution to protect the young forward, who has been one of Brazil’s standout performers under Carlo Ancelotti and had high hopes for the tournament.
Unable to interfere or dictate the course of his treatment, the national team refrained from commenting on the injury, leaving decisions and communication to Chelsea, the club holding Estêvão’s contract. Nevertheless, they had access to his medical information and had already concluded that he would not recover in time to play in the World Cup.
Earlier today, GE reported that Estêvão was left out of the preliminary 55-man squad. A source close to the national team confirmed that the forward will not play in the World Cup — the same information was also verified by columnist Rodrigo Mattos, alongside the inclusion of Flamengo’s Pedro and Neymar in the 55-player list.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has maintained a cautious stance and officially released the squad list. Estêvão had been the team’s primary offensive threat under Carlo Ancelotti, scoring five goals in 417 minutes on the pitch — a goal every 83 minutes. During the last international break in March, he was omitted from the squad due to recovery from a left thigh injury.
In April, while with Chelsea, he suffered another injury. The English club has kept the diagnosis under wraps and has never officially disclosed it. Details about the severity emerged through a report by The Athletic, part of The New York Times, based on backstage investigation.
Estêvão and his team were in a tug-of-war: Chelsea wanted to proceed with surgery immediately, but the player preferred a conservative treatment approach to keep his World Cup hopes alive. He even traveled to Brazil to begin this treatment at Palmeiras, where the Brazilian club opened its doors, but even there, the recovery was viewed with skepticism.
The column reached out to Estêvão’s representatives to seek the player’s perspective on the current situation and to ask whether, now that he is ruled out of the World Cup, he intends to undergo surgery. This report will be updated if a response is received.