Brazilian star Vinícius Junior has "a neck injury," which prevented him from finishing Saturday's match against Villarreal, where he scored the second and final goal in Real Madrid's 2-0 win. The team's doctors have advised him against joining his national team to avoid worsening the injury.

"After tests on our player Vinícius Júnior, a cervical injury has been diagnosed. Pending evolution," the club announced on their website.

According to EFE, Real Madrid's medical team recommended that he skip Brazil's next two matches during the international break, since such a long trip—about 12 hours by plane—could be very harmful to his injury.

Brazil is set to play against Chile on October 11 and host Peru on October 16 in matches for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Vinícius is likely to miss these games after a bad fall during a challenge for the ball with Sergi Cardona, forcing him to leave the pitch in the 79th minute.