Neymar called a ‘work-from-home’ striker by Brazil President Lula

It’s very rare that a President mocks arguably his country’s best player among the current generation during an ongoing World Cup. But that’s exactly what happened on Saturday when Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking at an event in Belo Horizonte, indulged in a mocking banter of Neymar Jr. who is recovering from injury and hoping to start in his fourth World Cup.

"Neymar isn't even playing, man,” Lula said, when a child from the audience he was addressing mentioned the striker’s name after being asked about Brazil’s best player.

“Neymar is the world's first 'work-from-home' national team player. A work-from-home player," Lula laughed, as per Reuters.

"I saw that (joke) on the internet yesterday. Any day now, they'll have to put together a national team using artificial intelligence – eleven Peles," he added.

The remarks came as Neymar continues his recovery from a calf injury that has kept him out of Brazil's opening two matches at the tournament. The 34-year-old was not part of the team that saw 1-1 draw against Morocco and 3-0 victory over Haiti.

Rather than travelling with the squad for the Haiti match in Philadelphia, Neymar remained at Brazil's training base in New Jersey, where he has been following an individual rehabilitation programme in a bid to return for Wednesday's encounter with Scotland.

The forward resumed on-field work on Saturday, taking part in physical and ball drills alongside defender Alex Sandro, who has also been sidelined through injury.

Despite the progress, Neymar's availability remains uncertain. Coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the Haiti victory that the veteran attacker would be reintegrated into the squad ahead of the Scotland match, with a final decision expected after training sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

Brazil, well placed in Group C after four points from two matches, will have a major boost if their number 10 is cleared to return as they look to secure qualification for the knockout stages.