The 2026 World Cup kicked off a few days ago. Alongside the new generation of soccer greats, this will be the final World Cup for several legends, for whom this tournament is not just their "last dance," but a test of determination, character and one last chance to leave their mark. Neymar, Thibaut Courtois and Manuel Neuer are some of the greatest players world soccer has known over the past two decades, and all three have all suffered complex injuries that led to multiple surgeries and lengthy rehabilitation.
"Torn ligaments and/or meniscus are most often caused by a rotational injury during a sharp change of direction, a poor landing with the knee collapsing inward or sudden deceleration while running. While these are not the most common injuries in soccer, they often require complex surgery along with lengthy rehabilitation, with outcomes depending on any associated injuries," said Dr. Lior Laver, a sports orthopedic specialist, Director of the Arthroscopy and Sports Injury Service at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, and Chief Physician of the Israel Football Association.
Dr. Lever performs numerous anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgeries on athletes across all sports, and on soccer players in particular. A recent study found that the risk of an additional tear, in either the operated knee or the other knee, exceeds 21% in certain populations and is even higher among women. In younger athletes under the age of 21, the risk of a repeat tear in either knee is close to 32%.
"One of the newer techniques that has come into use in recent years and significantly helps reduce this risk, especially in young athletes in sports involving frequent changes of direction (such as soccer, basketball and handball) is the addition of external reinforcement known as Lateral Extra-Articular Tenodesis (LET). This technique essentially adds control over the knee's rotational movement, functioning as an additional 'seatbelt' that helps protect the ACL graft," stated Dr. Lever.
Dr. Lior Laver. "Proper, targeted training may reduce the risk of ACL injuries by approximately 50%."
Neymar: 19 months of pain, tears, doubt and determination
October 2023. Montevideo. Neymar, 34, was injured in a match against Uruguay and carried off the field on a stretcher. The diagnosis: a torn ACL and a torn medial meniscus. He underwent ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair surgery. Later, due to complications related to the meniscus, he underwent additional surgery for partial removal - two surgeries in total, with six months between each round of rehabilitation. And the question heard over and over throughout Brazilian soccer circles: Would he even return to play, and if so, at what level? Eventually, Neymar returned to play for Santos, the club where he grew up, and Brazil's head coach Carlo Ancelotti included him on the 26-man World Cup squad. This will be his fourth World Cup. But plans are one thing and reality another. Just weeks before the tournament kicked off, Neymar suffered a calf muscle injury and arrived at the tournament without being fully prepared.
Thibaut Courtois: two surgeries, two knees, an unyielding character
August 2023. Thibaut Courtois, 31, goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Belgian national team, made a routine save during warm-ups and came away with a torn ACL in his left knee. An entire season went down the drain, and Courtois, one of the leaders of the Belgian national team, was left off Belgium's Euro squad. Just as anticipation was building for his return in March-April 2024, he was forced to undergo another surgery – this time on his right knee, due to a torn meniscus. Although a full year passed before he returned to the pitch, Courtois has since come back to lead the Belgian national team into the 2026 World Cup.
Manuel Neuer: a broken leg at 40, and one more chapter in the Bayern Munich and Germany legend
December 2022. While celebrating his birthday on a ski vacation, Manuel Neuer broke his leg and was sidelined from playing for about six months. His rehabilitation involved rebuilding muscle mass, a second, smaller surgery to remove metal screws that were causing pain, and a challenging journey of ups and downs that Neuer himself described as exhausting. It wasn't until April 2023, four months after the accident, that he completed his first run, and he didn't return to play until October 2023. The veteran Neuer has shown excellent form this year in goal for Bayern Munich in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League but has recently dealt with a calf injury and muscle pain in his left calf.
"Neuer's only real concern now is recurring injury. At 40, recovering from every injury and bouncing back from every match is a real challenge. The same is true for Neymar and Courtois, who are both over 30. Studies show that the rate of return to pre-injury performance level after a ligament tear is around 69% and is even lower at older ages. In other words, the challenge isn't just getting back onto the field but returning to the same high level of performance as before the injury. Beyond the physical barrier, one of the most significant factors is the fear of re-injury," said Dr. Levar.
Can complex injuries like ACL tears be prevented?
"There is quite a bit of research showing that proper, targeted training can reduce the risk of these injuries by approximately 50%," stated Dr. Laver. “A combination of strengthening exercises for specific muscle groups, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings and hip abductors, along with improving the balance between these muscle groups and training them to activate in a more synchronized and well-timed way during landing, rapid deceleration, changes of direction, and sudden stops, together with proprioceptive training - exercises that improve balance, stability, and control of knee movement, have all been shown to be effective in preventing ACL tears and other complex knee injuries. Incorporating these into warm-up routines during training, aimed at improving landing technique, directional changes and sudden stops, can reduce the rate of these injuries by roughly 50% and spare a great deal of heartache.”
The 2026 World Cup is an enormous challenge for the world's best players, all competing for the most prestigious prize of all - the World Cup trophy. But for Neymar, Courtois and Neuer, it represents something far greater than a trophy: proof that they have not yet written the final chapter of their story, and that they are still capable of producing a few more moments of magic.
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