RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 5 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Brighton forward Joao Pedro has been drafted into Brazil's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old replaces Flamengo striker Pedro, who was ruled out of the matches after suffering a knee injury while training earlier in the day.
Joao Pedro has made an impressive start to the season for the Seagulls with two goals in the first three matches of the Premier League campaign.
He is the third addition to Brazil's squad for the upcoming double header of World Cup qualifiers after Cruzeiro's William and Sao Paulo's Lucas Moura replaced injured pair Yan Couto and Savinho.
Brazil will meet Ecuador in Curitiba on Friday and Paraguay in Asuncion four days later.
The five-time World Cup champions are currently sixth in the 10-team South American zone qualifying standings with seven points from six outings, eight points behind leaders Argentina.
-- BERNAMA-XINHUA
