GOAL

Luiz Gustavo has been ruled out of Brazil's Copa America squad after suffering a knee injury.

The Wolfsburg man will undergo surgery to repair meniscus damage and will miss this month's tournament in Chile

Just days after scoring in Wolfsburg's DFB-Pokal final victory over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, the 27-year-old midfielder was found to have suffered meniscus damage and will undergo surgery.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder underwent an assessment from doctor Rodrigo Lasmar in Grana Comary on Monday.

He has started seven of coach Dunga’s eight matches in charge, having been rested in March’s Chevrolet Brasil Global Tour victory over Chile only because the game arrived less 72 hours – the boss' ideal recovery period – after the win over France in Paris. 

Other players assessed included Marquinhos, David Luiz and Filipe Luis.

A replacement for Luiz Gustavo is yet to be confirmed, with Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk), Felipe Anderson (Lazio), Rafinha Alcantara (Barcelona) and Kaka (Orlando City) the options open to Dunga after they were named on Brazil's stand-by list.

The Selecao head coach has already been forced to make two changes to his initial 23-man party, with defender Marcelo replaced by Geferson, and Neto coming in for back-up goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Brazil open their campaign in Chile against Peru on June 14, before other Group C fixtures against Colombia and Venezuela