Luis Suárez faces battle to be fit for Copa América
The Uruguay striker hobbled off the pitch at the Calderón in tears after apparently tearing a hamstring, placing his Copa campaign in doubt.
Luis Suárez burst into tears when he was forced off the pitch during Sunday night’s Copa del Rey final, the reason for his reaction perhaps going deeper than the disappointment of not being on the pitch for the full 120 minutes in the Calderón. The manner of Suárez’s departure from the turf in the 55th minute pointed to a hamstring tear, which was confirmed by club doctors after the match.
The sight of Suárez limping around the pitch during Barça’s celebrations rang alarm bells in Uruguay, who play their first match in the Copa América Centenario on June 6 against Mexico.
Suárez will undergo tests on Monday to assess the extent of the damage but early indications are that the European Golden Boot, who scored 40 Liga goals and hit 59 in 53 games across all competitions this season, will be on the sidelines for a month.
However, Suárez is likely to travel to the US with the Uruguay squad anyway while working to ensure he is fit to play some part in the tournament. The striker only recently returned to the international fold after serving a lengthy ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup, making him ineligible for Uruguay’s 2015 Copa América campaign.