Rodrygo to miss World Cup 2026 with knee injury: Real Madrid, Brazil star set for months out with ACL tear, per reports

Rodrygo out of 2026 World Cup with knee injury: The Brazil star is out for several months with a torn ACL, Sporting News originally reported. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.

Real Madrid and Brazil star Rodrygo looks set to miss the 2026 World Cup.

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The winger did not show any obvious signs of discomfort during Real Madrid’s 1-0 home defeat to Getafe on March 2, but he died from his injuries the next morning.

Reports a day after the game indicated that Rodrigo suffered a torn ACL, which will almost certainly rule him out of this year’s tournaments in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Of course, he will also miss the remainder of Madrid’s season and possibly the start of next season. They have 12 games remaining in La Liga trying to beat Barcelona in the title race and face Manchester City in this month’s Champions League last 16.

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Rodrygo to miss 2026 World Cup with knee injury

Spanish media outlets AS and Marca initially reported on March 3 that Rodrigo had torn the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his right knee, and then Real Madrid confirmed that he would miss a significant period of time.

AS said the 25-year-old’s first serious injury in his career is expected to sideline him for around six or seven months.

This means he will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season as well as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the United States this summer. He may still need some time before the start of the 2026/27 club season, with his recovery window not ending until September.

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How did Rodrigo get injured?

On March 2, Rodrigo came on as a substitute in the 55th minute of a 0-1 loss to Getafe, replacing 18-year-old Thiago Pitach to complete his Madrid debut.

Rodrygo played the entire final 35 minutes of the game and showed no sign of injury. In fact, he was an important part of Real Madrid’s comeback, contributing to multiple scoring opportunities late in the game.

AS reported after the game that Rodrigo’s injury occurred in the 66th minute when he was challenged by Adrian Lisso and his plant leg was caught in the grass. The Brazilian was briefly in pain but shook it off to play the rest of the game.

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There were no concerns about his knee until after the game, and according to the AS report, his concerns only grew the next morning when he felt significant pain.

Is Rodrigo a key player for Brazil?

While the 25-year-old has become a major contributor for Brazil, his struggles over the past year and the emergence of other attacking players have seen his role with the national team diminish.

Rodrigo started only two games for Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, failing to score and registering 1 assist.

In the four years since that World Cup, Rodrigo scored eight international goals, but only three of them came in official matches. He failed to score at the 2024 Copa America and was left out of the national team squad for the final four World Cup qualifiers as Brazil looks to secure a berth in the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches.

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Finally, Brazil has plenty of talented offensive players to make up for his absence.

When does the World Cup start?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off on June 11 and the final will be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium.

Brazil is placed in Group C and its first game will be against Morocco at MetLife Stadium on June 13. They then face Haiti and Scotland to complete the group stage.

If Brazil advance to the knockout stages, they will likely be drawn against the qualifiers from Group F (Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, UEFA Play-off B winners).

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