Chelsea gem Estêvão suffered a heartbreaking injury that dashed his 2026 World Cup dreams, yet the teenager recently revealed his recovery is progressing extremely quickly, jokingly saying, ”I can even play again now.”
The 2026 World Cup will be missing one of the world’s most exciting young talents in the 19-year-old Brazilian, who tore his hamstring in Chelsea’s match against Manchester United on April 18.
Chelsea quickly revealed Estêvão’s debut season in England was over and his World Cup dreams were in serious doubt. Weeks later, Carlo Ancelotti excluded the teenager from Brazil’s preliminary World Cup roster, sentencing the electrifying winger to wait another four years before making his World Cup debut.
Estêvão is the youngest to score in a competitive game for Brazil since Pelé.
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) September 5, 2025
Following in the footsteps of a giant. pic.twitter.com/YWaix184Ed
Such a serious injury for a player at such a young age raised the alarm bells for both Brazil and Chelsea, but Estêvão eased plenty of concerns when he issued an injury update during a speech at his church in Brazil last week.
“Two weeks ago, I had a second MRI scan,” Estêvao said, via Globo. “And the doctor asked if I was in pain or feeling anything. I said: ‘No, doctor, I'm fine, I think I could even play already.’ He said: ‘Yeah, it really shows.’
“He showed me the exam image and said he couldn't see any more of the injury. He said he doesn’t know what happened, because in the timeframe we're in, it shouldn’t be that well-structured like it is.”
Estêvão providing such a positive update is surprising news given how severe the injury was and how negative the outlook seemed to be for a while.
Chelsea Pushed for Surgery
The initial diagnosis of a rare “grade four hamstring injury” came as a shock, with speculation suggesting he could be out for six months as surgery became unavoidable. However, Estêvão opted against having surgery, even if Chelsea’s hierarchy wanted him. the Brazilian revealed.
“I had an injury where I tore 80 percent of my hamstring,” the winger admitted. “The Chelsea doctors wanted me to have surgery and even the Chelsea owner said he wanted me to have surgery. But together with my parents, and I always say that it’s very important to have the people you love by your side, because it’s very difficult to make these decisions alone, because you’re surrounded by a lot of pressure and other things, I chose not to have surgery.”
Taking a conservative route appears to be working for the teenager, even if his status for the start of the 2026–27 season remains in doubt.
Fellow Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer also battled nagging hamstring issues all season and, like Estêvão, he also followed a conservative treatment to avoid having surgery. Still, it wasn’t enough for the English playmaker to make his maiden World Cup appearance.
Three of Chelsea’s best players in Estêvão, Palmer and João Pedro won’t feature in the 2026 World Cup. With Andrey Santos also missing out, none of the three Brazilian Blues will play in North America this summer.
