AS Monaco striker Radamel Falcao has been ruled out the Colombia squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup after failing to recover from damage to his anterior cruciate knee ligament in time.
The 28 year-old suffered the blow during a French Cup match for the principality club in January, and despite the usual six to nine month period on the sidelines expected for similar injuries, had made sufficient progress to earn inclusion in Colombia’s expanded 30 man squad.
However, Falcao feels his fitness will not be close enough to 100% to justify his selection, and quotes attributed to him explain that he did not want to be an obstacle to another player who was fit to do a job.
"No quería quitarle el cupo a un compañero q estuviera 100% ni nada insensato. En definitiva todavía me falta para jugar" @FALCAO
— Andrea Guerrero (@AndreaGuerreroQ) June 2, 2014
LRT is a quote from Radamel Falcao García; 'I didn't want to take someone's who was 100%. All said and done, I'm still not fully fit.'
— Sam Kelly (@HEGS_com) June 2, 2014
Defender Luis Amaranto Perea and forward Luis Muriel are also surprise omissions from the Colombia squad.
Full squad below:
Estos son los 23 de jugadores de #FCFMayores para #Brasil2014: pic.twitter.com/Mml4qdjDBc
— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) June 2, 2014