Brazil’s Jesus and Telles out of World Cup with injuries

The South American team said the pair, who were hurt during Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, both underwent tests on Saturday morning that ‘confirmed their injuries’.

Brazil's Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus during Brazil's match against Cameroon [Dylan Martinez/Reuters]

Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles have been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with knee injuries, the Brazil team announced on Saturday.

A statement from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) subsequently confirmed that neither would feature for the remainder of the World Cup.

“As announced by the CBF after the game against Cameroon, players Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus underwent tests this Saturday morning,” the statement read.

Both players received injuries during the team’s fixture against Cameroon, to whom they lost 1-0, the first time an African team had defeated Brazil at the World Cup.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group G - Cameroon v Brazil - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - December 2, 2022 Brazil's Alex Telles receives medical attention
Brazil’s Alex Telles receives medical attention during the match against Cameroon [Dylan Martinez/Reuters]

Arsenal forward Jesus featured in all three of Brazil’s Group G games but the five-time world champions have a wealth of attacking talent.

Neymar Jr is still recovering from an ankle injury suffered in their debut win against Serbia, and they have only one pure full-back available after left-back Alex Telles suffered a knee injury during the match against Cameroon.

Starting full-backs Danilo and Alex Sandro are out after injuries suffered earlier in the competition and their availability is still unclear.

Coach Tite has said that star forward Neymar will play again in Qatar after spraining his right ankle in Brazil’s opening 2-0 win over Serbia earlier this week.

Hopes Neymar could feature against South Korea increased after he was seen at the Lusail Stadium with his teammates, walking on the pitch without a limp.

“The physical demand is ever increasing, the time is short. It’s a cumulative effect of games, and sometimes you don’t have the ideal recovery time on your hands,” Tite told a news conference on Friday.

“I don’t really know what to say other than that, mentally, the Cup is very demanding. It drains you. The intensity of the matches, the preparation – they are components of analysis that we have to delve into deeper, but they are all considerable.”

Source: News Agencies