• Striker fails to make final list of players for Brazil finals • Anterior cruciate ligament problem not resolved in time

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Radamel Falcao will not be playing for Colombia in the World Cup after failing to recover from a serious knee injury.

The 28-year-old striker had been included in Colombia’s initial 30-man squad for the finals in Brazil but was withdrawn on Monday night when the final 23-man list was handed into Fifa.

Falcao, who is a key player for Colombia and scored nine goals in 13 matches in qualifying, damaged an anterior cruciate ligament in January while playing for Monaco in the French Cup.

He had surgery but a recovery in time for the finals was always likely to be a long shot and medical staff have decided he is not fit enough to play any meaningful part in the tournament.

Falcao said, according to the Colombian newspaper El Pais: “I was very excited but now I’ll have to support the team from afar and I wish them well, hoping they play a good World Cup.”

After taking the tough decision José Pékerman called it “the saddest day I’ve had since becoming Colombia coach”.

Colombia, who are appearing in their first finals for 16 years and will face Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan in Group C, also announced that the injured defender Luis Amaranto Perea and another forward, Luis Muriel, have been cut from the squad.