Colombian national team coach José Pékerman has confirmed Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao will be unavailable for international duty as a result of his ongoing injury.
The South Americans, currently ranked third in the FIFA World Rankings, will travel to the United States on Friday 14th, before making the journey to Slovenia four days later in upcoming international friendlies, having lost just two matches all year – both to Brazil.
With seven victories out of a possible eleven this year, Pékerman will be without influential striker Falcao after he missed the last three Premier League matches.
El Tigre managed to open the scoring last month on his return to international football, taking just 8 minutes to beat El Salvador's Henry Hernández in an international friendly, before being substituted on the hour.
Falcao, who has scored 21 times in 54 international appearances, has carried a calf injury since his move to the Red Devils, having recently overcome a long-term knee injury. As a result, the 28-year-old failed to make the squad for the trips to London and Ljubljana.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal recently ruled the loanee out of his side’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace two days ago, but refused to comment on when he is expected to return to action. The Dutchman said:
"The problem for Falcao is because of balance in the game. I had to change, he came in and assisted a goal. Then in training he was injured.
“I cannot judge now because he is injured and I changed him not because of his performance but because of the balance of the team, which is much more important than the individual."
Van Gaal will hope the striker, on loan from Ligue 1's AS Monaco, will be fit in time for the highly anticipated clash with Arsene Wenger's Arsenal on Saturday 22nd November at the Emirates Stadium.