Rio de Janeiro, Oct 11 (IANS): David Luiz has been ruled out of Brazil's home World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Tuesday with a knee injury, team officials said on Saturday.
The 28-year-old left the pitch in the first half of the Selecao's opening World Cup qualifier on Thursday, which they lost 2-0 to Chile, reported Xinhua.
Reserve goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe was also cut from Brazil's squad due to an unspecified injury.
Luiz's misfortune is likely to provide a starting berth for his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Marquinhos, who replaced the former Chelsea defender during Thursday's match in Santiago.
Venezuela started their qualifying campaign with a 1-0 home loss to Paraguay.
Brazil will again be without Barcelona forward Neymar for Tuesday's clash as he serves the final match of a four-game suspension.