Brazil star Elano could miss the rest of the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury in their second group game (Brazil 10/11 – To Reach Final).
The former Manchester City midfielder was forced off against Ivory Coast after a strong tackle by Elephants defender Cheik Tiote and broke down in training on Tuesday as he looked to prove his fitness to coach Dunga.
Elano will now sit out the quarter-final showdown with Holland in Port Elizabeth on Friday as A Seleção look to make the last four for the 11th time ever (Holland 16/5, draw 11/5, Brazil 20/21 – 90 Minutes).
Brazil’s team doctor told the media: “I’m not saying that he won’t be able to play again at this World Cup but he won’t be ready for Friday.
“He has bad bruising and it was after he trained on Sunday that he said that he was having problems.
“The bone is swollen and we have to release the pressure on it so he will do nothing strenuous for the rest of the week.”
“We still hope he can play next week but I can’t say that he will be able to categorically.”
Elano has scored two goals during the tournament so far despite missing the games against Portugal, in Group G, and Chile in the second round.
The pressure is on the Samba Kings after quarter-final eliminations at the last two World Cups in Germany and Japan & South Korea as they bid for their sixth world crown.
Former Arsenal star Gilberto Sliva, 33, is probably playing at his last World Cup and he admits he is looking to make it third time lucky after appearing at the 2002 and 2006 editions of the tournament (Gilberto 13/2 – Anytime Goalscorer).
Ahead of the clash with the Dutch, who topped Group E with three wins out of three, Gilberto admitted he has full belief in the Brazilians’ chances of going all the way to Soccer City, Johannesburg on July 11 and lifting the trophy.
He told FIFA.com: “The mood in the squad is very good at the moment, everyone is enjoying a lot what we’re doing for our country.
“Everyone is hungry to achieve one more trophy for Brazil. This is what we talk about all the time.”
Gilberto added: “We expect a very hard game because Holland have got a quality team with very good players.
“We know that (if) we give them space it will be very difficult for us and we could have a problem. This is what we want to avoid.
“We have played against Holland in these big World Cup matches before and it will be an emotional game. But I’m sure we will do our job as we did against Chile.”
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