Deco out of Fluminense's Copa Libertadores match

Rio de Janeiro, Jan 30 (IANS):

Fluminense coach Abel Braga says injured midfielder Deco is unlikely to be ready for the club’s 2013 Copa Libertadores debut against Caracas Feb 13.

The former Porto, Barcelona and Chelsea star completed 20 minutes of light running Tuesday in his first training appearance since injuring his right thigh two weeks ago, reports Xinhua.

“The Copa Libertadores is something different. You need to have meticulous planning and preparation and we can’t go making rash decisions,” Braga said.

Fluminense, which won last year’s Brazilian Serie A championship, is among the favourites for this year’s Copa Libertadores title.

The Rio de Janeiro outfit is yet to win South America’s most prestigious club competition. It’s best result was in 2008 when it lost the final to Ecuador’s Liga de Quito in a dramatic penalty shootout at Rio’s Maracana Stadium.

Fluminense and Caracas have been drawn in Group Eight of the tournament along with Chile’s Huachipato and the winner of the Gremio-Liga de Quito qualifier, which will be decided in Porto Alegre Wednesday.