The 22-year-old fell to the floor in the first half of Inter’s 1-1 draw on Wednesday night, and as a result was ruled out of Brazil’s games against Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.
Damiao is suffering from a lesion in his right thigh, and after analysis the Inter medical department have confirmed he will be unavailable to play for 40 days, double their original estimate.
“He has a muscle injury,” said Inter’s medical director, Paulo Rabello. “It is a grade two injury. After an examination, we determined that he would be able to play again in 35 to 40 days.”
The injury is likely to keep Damiao out of the next seven Brasileirão games, a run stretching until November. It will come as a huge loss to Inter, with the forward having scored 39 goals in all competitions in 2011, more than any other player in Brazil.
