Douglas Costa Withdraws From Brazil Olympic Squad
Douglas Costa will not be representing Brazil in the Rio Olympics because of a thigh issue.
OMNISPORT
Brazil will be without the services of Douglas Costa for the football tournament at the 2016 Olympic Games after he withdrew because of a thigh injury.
The Bayern Munich winger had been picked as one of the three players over 23 in the Brazil squad for the Games in Rio de Janeiro.
But the injury, which kept Costa out of the Copa America Centenario, has not yet healed, with Bayern making the decision that Costa cannot feature in the Olympics on home soil.
"I greatly regret this," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "We all wanted Douglas to contest the Olympic Games in his home country, but the player's health and fitness takes priority."
Barcelona star Neymar and veteran Palmeiras goalkeeper Fernando Prass were the other two overage players selected in the squad.
Brazil begins its campaign against South Africa at Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in Brasilia on Aug. 4.