Why isn't Neymar playing in the Copa America and who will replace him in the Brazil squad?

BRAZIL will be without their biggest superstar as they host the Copa America for the first time since 1949.

Neymar will play no part of the competition as Brazil's football association (CBF) announced on Thursday morning that he would no longer be part of the squad.

Why isn't Neymar playing for Brazil in the Copa America?

Neymar is unable to play in the Copa America after limping off the pitch on crutches against Qatar in a pre-tournament friendly.

The CBF confirmed he has ruptured ligaments in his right ankle after tests and will not be able to recover in time for the tournament which starts on June 14.

Neymar's omission from the squad has nothing to do with rape allegations made against him by Najila Trindade, which he vehemently denies.

Who will replace Neymar in Brazil's Copa America squad?

The CBF have announced that they will meet today (Thursday) to decide who Neymar's replacement will be.

Their full statement read: "After suffering a sprain in his right ankle during last Wednesday's game against Qatar, Neymar was evaluated and subjected to complementary imaging tests that confirmed ligament rupture in the ankle.

"Due to the seriousness of the injury, Neymar will not have the physical condition and sufficient recovery time to participate in the Copa América Brasil 2019.

"As of this Thursday (06), the technical committee of the Brazilian National Team will begin the definition of a substitute."

Among the favourites to replace Neymar would be Spurs' Lucas Moura, who was harshly left out of Tite's original 23 despite scoring a hat-trick against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final.

But he could face stiff competition from 18-year-old Real Madrid wonderkid Vinicius Jr.

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