The severe injury to the Brazilian National Team’s goal hope in one of the last training sessions before the South American Qualifiers

The forward Pedroa great figure of Flamengo de Rio de Janeiro, suffered a serious injury to his left knee this Wednesday during training for the Brazil National Team, prior to the match against Ecuador next Friday. “After subjecting the player to a clinical examination and an MRI, it was confirmed that he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament,” the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement.

The entity expressed its solidarity with the 27-year-old center forward, who was released from the squad’s concentration that is preparing in Curitiba for the clash against the Ecuadorians and then traveling to Asunción to face Paraguay on Tuesday.

“The medical department of the Brazilian team contacted Flamengo to inform them of the injury,” which usually entails a medical disability of more than six months, the CBF added.

World Cup winner in Qatar 2022, Pedro suffered the same trauma, but in his right knee, in 2018, when he was defending the shirt of the other award-winning team from Rio de Janeiro, Fluminense.

The attacker was one of the Dorival Júnior Seleção’s goal hopes to try to straighten the path in the South American Qualifiers with a view to the 2026 World Cup.

The five-time world champions have gone four consecutive qualifying matches without winning, including three defeats in a row, and are in the undesirable sixth position, the last one that gives a direct ticket to the World Cup.

Without the 9 of ‘Fla’, author this season of 30 goals in 43 gamesthe ‘Canarinha’ only has Endrick as the only center forward, although the pearl of Real Madrid can also play on the wings.

The injury is a hard blow for the most popular club in Brazil at a time when it is fighting for the leadership of the Brasileirao and competing in the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil and the Libertadores, where it will face Peñarol of Uruguay.

In addition, it is the third loss suffered by Dorival Júnior for the seventh and eighth rounds of the qualifying round, after the side’s absences for medical reasons. Yan Couto (Borussia Dortmund) and the winger Savinho (Manchester City).