JESUS TO MISS REMAINDER OF TOURNAMENT

BRAZIL’S worst fears over Gabriel Jesus were confirmed yesterday when he was ruled out for the rest of the World Cup — handing Arsenal a huge headache in the process.

The striker was substituted during the second half of his country’s shock 1-0 defeat to Cameroon and head coach Tite admitted it would need a scan to determine the severity of the problem in his knee. His tone indicated this was nothing superficial and so it proved.

Jesus, who has been outstanding for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners since leaving Manchester City, will be out for a minimum of four weeks with ligament damage, which means he is likely to be unavailable for the league leaders’ fixtures against West Ham, Brighton and potentially Newcastle.

He will remain with the Brazil squad for treatment at their base in Doha and Jesus has given Tite a headache at the most inconvenient time, as he is one of several players who have been hurt during the World Cup.

Neymar, whose ankle was damaged in the opening 2-0 win over Serbia, is facing a fight to be fit to face South Korea tomorrow. He has been limited to doing work in the gym and he will need to be involved in today’s session at Al Arabi Stadium to stand any chance of featuring from the start.

Danilo, the Juventus defender, has almost recovered from injury, but Manchester United’s Alex Telles is out after picking up an issue against Cameroon.

If Neymar is out, the onus will be on Tottenham’s Richarlison to again deliver the goals to keep a Brazil campaign, which is becoming increasingly saddled with emotion owing to Pele’s deteriorating health, moving forward.

‘I believe Neymar should be ready for the next game,’ Richarlison, who has designs on winning the Golden Boot, insisted. ‘I hope he will be back for the round of 16 because that will be better for me and for the team. ‘I’m going to work towards winning the Golden Boot.

‘I’d like to but it depends on the whole team. I will work hard for it but the main thing is what we do as a group rather than as individuals.

‘With or without Neymar, Brazil is Brazil. We’re here to win the World Cup. We will give all our sweat and hard work to win our remaining games.’

The Brazil players were noticeably downcast as they left Lusail Stadium in the early hours of Saturday morning, with the result against Cameroon stinging them and prompting Tite to demand that each member of the squad ‘suffer’ for the manner in which they faltered.

Tite stressed that it was their good fortune that they had a second chance as, from now on, a failure to meet the standards expected — especially against a team as enthusiastic and determined as South Korea, who will have Son Heung-min charging forward — could have a significant consequence.

‘Sonny is my friend, we play together at Spurs,’ said Richarlison. ‘Two months ago, we played them in a friendly in Korea and I know all about their quality. It’s going to be a hard game — it’s the World Cup. We are going to have to concentrate to make sure we win the match.

‘It was really important for the many players who have not played in a World Cup to get experience against Cameroon, especially of playing for the first time. To get the taste of being at this tournament.

‘This way, if we need them during matches they will be ready.’