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What's the story?
As per reports coming from Brazil, manager Tite is preparing the Selecao side for the upcoming Copa America semi-final against Argentina without two key players who have been sidelined due to injury.
Left-back Felipe Luis has an injury to the right thigh and defensive midfielder Fernandinho is suffering from pain in his right knee. Attacking midfielder Richarlison has seemingly recovered from mumps and is expected to be available for the crunch semi-final.
In case you didn't know...
Brazil had been unlucky with injuries in the early stages of this year's Copa America, having lost team talisman Neymar to an ankle injury that ruled out the 27-year-old superstar from the tournament.
Midfielder Arthur and centre-back Eder Militao also had injury absences in the group games, with manager Tite placing blame on the poor state of Brazil's tournament pitches as a key reason for the frequent injuries.
Brazil qualified for the semi-final showdown against Argentina by narrowly beating Paraguay 4-3 in the quarter-final penalty shootout, after the teams had remained deadlocked 0-0 in regular time.
The heart of the matter
As reported by Fox Sports, Felipe Luis missed the weekend's practice sessions to undergo physiotherapy to his right knee, after having injured it in Brazil's quarter-final victory over Paraguay. Juventus left-back Alex Sandro replaced the Atletico man at half-time in that game and is expected to start in his place against Argentina on Wednesday.
Manchester City's defensive midfielder Fernandinho's recovery from a strain to his right knee is ongoing, after the 34-year-old injured it during Brazil's second group game against Venezuela. Both him and Richarlison missed the quarter-final against Paraguay and the Manchester City man is likely to miss out on the semi-final as well
What's next?
Brazil will face Argentina in the first semi-final of the Copa America on Wednesday, 6:00 AM IST. Chile will face the Peru in second semi-final match.
