The 19-year-old suffered a grade four hamstring injury — described by medical sources as a near-total muscle rupture — during Chelsea's 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United on April 18. It was his second hamstring problem of the season and his fifth injury absence overall.
What followed was a weeks-long negotiation between club and player over the treatment approach. Chelsea initially favoured surgery. Estêvão and those closest to him pushed back, opting for conservative treatment in the belief it offered a slim chance of making Brazil's squad for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.
The compromise was a rehabilitation stint at Palmeiras, the club in São Paulo where Estêvão developed before joining Chelsea for £29 million last summer. The familiar environment, family proximity and access to first-class facilities made it a logical base — and Brazil's medical staff monitored his progress throughout, maintaining cautious hope.
That hope has now gone. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti left Estêvão out of the 55-man preliminary squad submitted earlier this week, ending any lingering doubt about the outcome. The player who had been described as a certainty for Ancelotti's plans — having scored four goals in his last four Brazil appearances — joins Éder Militão and Rodrygo on the list of key absentees ruled out by injury.
Chelsea will reassess Estêvão in London over the next 15 days before deciding on the next phase of his recovery programme and its location. The club has not confirmed whether surgery will now be reconsidered as an option, or whether the conservative approach will continue.