Brazil duo Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles have been ruled out of the rest of the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injuries, according to reports.
Brazil are considered one of the favorites to win the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year. They have booked their place in the Round of 16 of the tournament as Group G winners, having won two and lost one of their three matches.
Selecao will now look to progress into the quarter-finals of the competition when they face South Korea in the Round of 16 on Monday (5 December). They will be positive about beating the Asian nation to go further in Qatar.
However, Brazil have suffered two major setbacks ahead of their game against South Korea. It has emerged that both Jesus and Telles will miss the rest of the FIFA World Cup through injuries.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Jesus has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. The centre-forward is only expected to return to action with Arsenal in January, as per the report. The journalist wrote on Twitter:
“Gabriel Jesus will miss the rest of the World Cup, sources close to player and Brazil confirm. He has pain in his knee and won’t be able to be back during the competition. Gabriel is expected to return in January with Arsenal.”
Telles has also been met with a similar fate if Brazilian outlet Globo is to be believed. Like Jesus, the Manchester United loanee has suffered an injury to his right knee.
Scans are said to have shown that both players have injured their knees and cannot play in this year’s World Cup again. It will come as a blow to the team’s hopes of winning the competition in Qatar.
Jesus and Telles started in Brazil’s final FIFA World Cup group game
Tite notably named Jesus and Telles in his starting line-up to face Cameroon on Friday (2 December). Having already sealed qualification for the Round of 16, it was an opportunity for him to give those players some playing time.
However, things did not go according to plan as both players suffered injuries during the game. Telles was the first to be withdrawn and was replaced by Marquinhos in the 54th minute.
Jesus was taken off just 10 minutes later, with Flamengo striker Pedro taking his place. Both players will now be forced to watch on as their teammates try and win the competition.