Brazil's Sandro leaves squad after sustaining knee injury

Tottenham midfielder Sandro has had his Copa America tournament cut short after suffering what could be a serious knee injury.

The Brazilian has injured the meniscus in his left knee, and also complained of soreness in both calves.

The 22-year-old's departure was announced by the Brazilian team's doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, and it is likely he will have to undergo surgery when he returns to London.

"Yesterday [Monday], at the end of training, Sandro complained of pain in both calves and a sore left knee," said Lasmar.

"Last week, he responded well to conservative treatment and resumed training, but he felt the pain later.

"We found it prudent to make a closer examination, an MRI scan of both calves and his left knee.

"We found there was a swelling in the calf muscle and a ruptured external meniscus. With these injuries, he is unable to recover in time for the competition."

According to the doctor, the pain in his calves may also be due to the injury in his knee.

"[The calf injury] may be a result of the imbalance of the knee joint. The player tries to protect himself and ends up overloading the knee," he said.

The player himself has said that he was "very sad" to be leaving the squad.