Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paquetá will miss Brazil's round-of-16 clash with Norway on Sunday due to a hamstring muscle injury, a source within the Brazilian Football Confederation has confirmed. The source added that Paquetá is not expected to feature again in the tournament unless the Seleção reach the final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Paquetá, who has been a regular starter alongside Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães in midfield, picked up the injury during Brazil's dramatic 2-1 victory over Japan in Houston. He has been undergoing intensive treatment since then and is the only confirmed absentee from Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti's squad ahead of the match against Norway, led by striker Erling Haaland, at the end of this week.
Ancelotti can either turn to a suitable replacement in Danilo Santos, or reshape his lineup to include a more attack-minded player such as Endrick or Gabriel Martinelli.
Separately, Raphinha resumed individual training away from the main squad after being sidelined since sustaining a thigh injury during Brazil's second group-stage match against Haiti. The source indicated that, depending on the extent of the Barcelona forward's recovery by Sunday, he could be added to the substitutes' bench if needed.