Liverpool’s Luis Suarez to miss Uruguay’s World Cup opener
Uruguay’s World Cup star Luis Suarez will miss his country’s opening World Cup game with Costa Rica, having failed to recover from the knee injury that he sustained in Liverpool’s final Premier League game of the season, report Goal.
However while the 27-year-old Liverpool striker, signed for £23 million in 2011, will be absent when his teammates face Costa Rica on Saturday, he does look set to feature in Uruguay’s other two Group D fixtures, against England and Italy.
Suarez’s participation in the tournament has been in doubt, with the striker having undergone knee surgery for an injury that he picked up in a challenge with Newcastle’s Paul Dummett.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has confirmed that the forward, who scored 31 goals in Liverpool’s ultimately unsuccessful Premier League title challenge, will miss the side’s first game, but believes that he will be fit in time to face England on Thursday.
“The doctor said he wasn’t ruled out for the World Cup, that was his first report. That’s why he’s in the squad,” Tabarez told reporters.
“We are increasing his pace of recovery and up until now there have been no glitches.
“Yesterday afternoon he trained fully, and actually played football. There are no problems at all. But, obviously, he’s not at the level demanded in a full match,” confirmed the Uruguay coach.
Tabarez continued by suggesting that he would rather be without the forward for the Costa Rica game than risk his fitness and lose him for the rest of the tournament, admitting that his injury will need careful management.
“We don’t want to jump gun, but we have prepared without Luis. But we have to be very careful. We have to think about the players.
“He is recovering very well, but we have to be very careful and manage things carefully.”