Hulk and Adriano out of Brazil friendly

The Brazilian soccer federation says Zenit St. Petersburg striker Hulk and Barcelona defender Adriano will not play in Brazil’s friendly against Colombia next week in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The federation said on Wednesday that Hulk and Adriano were dropped from the squad because of right thigh muscle injuries sustained while playing for their clubs. Adriano was hurt in Barcelona’s victory over Celta in the Spanish league on Saturday, while Hulk was injured in his team’s win over Rostov on Friday. The friendly at MetLife Stadium will be Brazil’s final match of the year. It will also be the 1,000th game in Brazil’s history. Coach Mano Menezes was already without injured defenders Marcelo of Real Madrid, Alex Sandro of Porto and Dede of Vasco da Gama. From Gulfnews