Jesus And Telles Of Brazil Out Of World Cup Due To Injuries

The Brazilian team announced on Saturday, Dec. 3, that Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles will miss the rest of the World Cup due to knee injuries.

It was later confirmed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) through a statement that neither would play for the remainder of the World Cup, AL Jazeera reported.

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

It was during the team's match against Cameroon when both players got injured. Brazil lost to Cameroon 1-0. It was the first time an African team had defeated Brazil at the World Cup.

Although the five-time world champions have an abundance of attacking potential, Arsenal forward Jesus played in each of Brazil's three Group G matches.

After left-back Alex Telles sustained a knee injury during the encounter against Cameroon, they only have one pure full-back available, while Neymar Jr is still recovering from an ankle injury sustained in their opening victory against Serbia.

After getting injured from earlier games in the competition starting full-backs Danilo and Alex Sandro are currently out. Their availability for the rest of the competition is still unclear.

Brazilian coach Tite has said that star forward Neymar will play again for his country in Qatar after spraining his right ankle in Brazil’s opening 2-0 win over Serbia earlier in the tournament.

Neymar was spotted at the Lusail Stadium with his teammates, walking on the pitch without a limp, raising hopes that he would play against South Korea.

“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, Dec. 2.

“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 considered,” the Brazilian coach added.