Major blow to the Canaries; Jesus, Telles ruled out of World Cup

Doha: In major blow to the Canaries, the team's forward Gabriel Jesus and left-back Alex Telles are ruled out of the World Cup tournament, because of reported knee injury according to the statement by the Brazilian football confederation on Sunday.

In the second half of the match with Cameroon, in which Brazil had lost to 1-0, the Arsenal forward Jesus and Sevilla left-back Telles are forced off the pitch.

"Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus underwent tests on Saturday morning accompanied by Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar," the confederation said in a statement.

"An MRI on their right knees confirmed the extent of the injuries and the impossibility of recovery in time to participate [again] in the World Cup."

The loss of Telles could prove particularly telling given the injuries to fellow defenders Danilo and Alex Sandro. Right-back Danilo is recovering from an ankle sprain sustained in Brazil's tournament opener against Serbia while Sandro missed Friday's match with an adductor problem.

That leaves Brazil with only one fit specialist full-back 39-year-old Dani Alves, who looked off the pace in Brazil's loss to Cameroon.

Doubt also surrounds the availability of prolific forward Neymar, who has missed Brazil's past two matches due to an ankle problem.

Brazil will face South Korea on Tuesday, in the sixth match of the final round of 16 of Qatar World Cup 2022.

-IANS Inputs