This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On Thursday, Brazil announced that winger Willian would be missing the Copa America final against Peru due to a muscle injury, a setback for the team ahead of their highly anticipated match.
Willian, who had been a key player for Brazil throughout the tournament, scored crucial goals in their 5-0 win over Peru in the group stage and in their penalty shootout victory over Paraguay in the quarter-finals.
He was brought on as a substitute in their 2-0 win over Argentina in the semi-finals but was forced to leave the game early due to the injury, which was confirmed by tests on Wednesday.
Willian had replaced Neymar in the squad after the latter was forced to miss the tournament due to an ankle injury sustained in a friendly against Qatar in June.
The injury is a significant blow to Brazil, who will be looking to win their first major trophy since the 2007 Copa America at the Maracana stadium.
