South Korea defender Kwak Tae-hwi has been ruled out of the World Cup finals after suffering a knee injury in Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Belarus in Austria.

The 28-year-old Kyoto Sanga player, who only returned to the squad last November following a lengthy lay-off with a similar injury, twisted knee ligaments during a challenge in the first half and was carried off on a stretcher.

"Kwak will need at least four weeks to recover from twisting a ligament in his left knee," said media officer Lee Won-jae.