Russia star Alan Dzagoev has confirmed he will miss the remaining two group games after suffering a hamstring injury against Saudi Arabia.
The CSKA Moscow midfielder is one of Russia’s key players but they will have to cope without him after he went down injured on Thursday.
Dzagoev pulled up sharply during the first half in Moscow and he was quickly replaced by Villarreal’s Denis Cheryshev.
Cheryshev went on to score two goals in the 5-0 win but the hosts will now have to battle on without one of their key players.
Dzagoev was in Russia’s 2014 World Cup squad but he will now need his team-mates to qualify before he can feature again.
The 28-year-old could still play in the tournament if they reach the knockout stages and he described the news as a ray of light.
He told reporters: “I hope that I will still manage to play because they (doctors) said that if we make it to the knockout stage, maybe I will be able to play.
“It’s the most important tournament of your life passing you by. There is nothing good in this.”
Dzagoev will not travel with the team to St Petersburg, where they face Egypt on Tuesday.
Russia are the 2.15 favourites, while the draw is 3.10, with Egypt the outsiders at odds of 3.75.
Russia were the lowest ranked team going into this summer’s tournament and have not reached the tournament’s knockout stages in the post-Soviet era.
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