Chile midfielder Valdivia out of Libertadores opener

Rio De Janeiro, Feb 6 (IANS): Chile international midfielder Jorge Valdivia has been ruled out of Palmeiras’ 2013 Copa Libertadores football opener against Peru’s Sporting Cristal next week with a thigh injury.

The 29-year-old suffered a knock to his left quadriceps Sunday during the Brazilian club’s 3-3 draw against XV de Piracicaba and scans Tuesday confirmed he will need two weeks on the sidelines.

“He received a heavy blow and the muscle has shown signs of trauma,” Palmeiras doctor Rubens Sampaio said on the club’s website. “It’s a shame because he had put a good sequence of games together and was playing well.”

While Valdivia will miss the Feb 14 duel at Palmeiras’ Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo, he is expected to be fit for the club’s away clash at Paraguay’s Libertad on February 28.

Palmeiras was relegated to Brazil’s second division last year but qualified for the Copa Libertadores.