Brazil squad misses Edmilson

Weggis:

Edmilson's Brazil teammates and coach are lamenting his forced absence from the World Cup after a knee injury. The FC Barcelona midfielder was dropped from the squad on Wednesday after medical exams showed he has a ruptured right-knee meniscus. He is not expected to recover in time for the tournament starting next week. He returned to Brazil for a surgery. "He was an important player for us, we were counting on him," coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "He had a good participation in the 2002 World Cup and was playing well with Barcelona, winning the Spanish title and the Champions League. Without a doubt we will miss him, he added a lot to the group". Edmilson had been bothered by the knee since Barcelona's second-leg semifinal against AC Milan in the Champions League on April 26, but it had not kept him from playing. He said the pain got worse last week when Brazil began it's pre-World Cup preparation in Weggis. The injury was to the same knee which kept Edmilson sidelined for about eight months in 2004 and 2005. Edmilson will be replaced by Sao Paulo's Mineiro. He could not hold back tears at a press conference on Wednesday, when he thanked his family and fellow players for their support. Ronaldo called Edmilson's absence ``traumatic," and team captain Cafu said he cried along with Edmilson in the meeting in which the player was ruled out by doctors. (AP)