Marco Rojas has been ruled out of the Junior All Whites' Under-20 football World Cup opener against Cameroon after picking up a hamstring injury during training at Cali in Colombia.
The attacking midfielder has been capped twice at senior international level and is a key part of coach Chris Milicich's plans for Sunday morning's match.
Millicich says the injury will be assessed on Thursday and he understands Rojas will play some part in game two against Uruguay and be fit for game three against Portugal.
While the loss of Rojas is a significant blow strikers Dakota Lucas, Ryan Cain and Sean Lovemore are all making progress from knocks received in warmup matches.
