Football
ESPN staff 8y

Kaka out of Brazil's Copa America squad due to injury, Ganso in

Brazil midfielder Kaka has been dropped from the national team's Copa America Centenario squad due to a muscular issue, the Brazilian federation announced on Wednesday.

Kaka will be replaced by Sao Paulo star Ganso in the 23-man squad.

The 34-year-old Orlando City SC man had replaced injured Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa in the team last week, but now finds himself ruled out of the competition just five days later.

"Kaka had discomfort in training. We did an exam. He must do 20 days without training. He will be dropped," said national team technical director Gilmar Rinaldi.

"We have spoken with the substitute's club, it will be Ganso. If everything goes well, he will be called up. I await exam results."

Ganso rose to prominence alongside Neymar on a Santos side that won Copa do Brazil, Sao Paulo State League and Copa Libertadores titles between 2009 and 2012.

Upset with his wages, the midfielder was sold in 2012 to rival club Sao Paulo, where injuries and inconsistency had plagued his stay before a recent renaissance which has seen him lead the Tricolor to a berth in the Copa Libertadores semifinals this campaign.

The 26-year-old has earned eight senior caps for his country, and has not appeared in a Brazil shirt since the 2012 Olympic tournament.

Kaka, who came on as a late substitute in Brazil's 2-0 friendly defeat of Panama on Tuesday, has been capped 92 times for Brazil, scoring 29 goals.

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