Luis Suarez reacted furiously on the Uruguay bench, shouting at a coach and smashing his hand into the dug-out wall, after seemingly being told to get ready to come on against Venezuela, only to be overlooked in the dying moments.

Suarez picked up a hamstring in Barcelona's Copa del Rey final victory against Sevilla at the end of May and, in fear of missing his country's Copa America Centenario campaign, cried tears of devastation on the bench at Valencia's Mestalla stadium.

He recovered enough to be named in Oscar Tabarez's final squad, but missed his country's opening defeat to Mexico on Sunday and watched from the sidelines as Venezuela took a 1-0 first-half lead that threatened the 15-times winners of this tournament with group-stage elimination.

Although he sat on the substitutes' bench with his teammates in Philadelphia, he had been listed as "injured" on the pre-match team sheets, rather than as a sub, and was therefore unable to play any part in the match.

The striker was put through his paces as he prepared to help his country out of danger, only to see Mathias Corujo introduced as the third and final replacement with 10 minutes remaining.

He was then seen in a heated exchange with Uruguay coach Mario Rebollo before once again taking his place on the bench and striking his hand against a plastic wall.

Uruguay went on to lose the match, with Edinson Cavani missing a gilt-edged opportunity in stoppage time, and has been eliminated ahead of its final clash with Jamaica on Monday.