Hulk and Conca to miss SIPG clash with Jeonbuk

Hulk has been ruled out of Shanghai SIPG's clash against Jeonbuk Hyundai in the 2016 AFC Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Shanghai SIPG will be without Asia's most expensive transfer, Brazilian striker Hulk, as well as Argentine playmaker Dario Conca for Tuesday's meeting with Korea Republic's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors as the Chinese Super League side prepare to host the 2016 AFC Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Shanghai are in their maiden continental campaign and, after topping Group G and eliminating Japan's FC Tokyo in the Round of 16, are just the fourth Chinese side to reach the AFC Champions League's last eight on their competition debut.

But Shanghai will be without former Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk, who scored on his Super League debut before suffering an injury last month, and 2013 AFC Champions League winner Conca after the midfielder was injured in Shanghai's 4-1 Super League win over Shijiazhuang Everbright on Friday.

"All our players are OK except Hulk and Dario Conca who are out," said Shanghai coach Sven Goran Eriksson.

"But we are ready and we need to be ready because our opponent, Jeonbuk, is a good one.

"They are very physical; more so than any other team in the Chinese Super League. On paper and in reality they are very strong as well as very experienced in the AFC Champions League.

"But we shouldn't change our style to combat them or their physical nature, we have to continue to play our way otherwise we will have no chance. We have a strong motivation and despite our injuries we have many other good players such as Kim Ju-young, Elkeson and several China internationals."

One of those China stars, forward Wu Lei, was the difference-maker in the last 16, scoring a dramatic late winner to clinch the tie for Shanghai, and with his two foreign talents ruled out, former England coach Eriksson admitted that Wu will need to play a key role once more.

"Wu Lei is a very big star in China and he's very important to us, not only for this game but in every game," added Eriksson of Shanghai's all-time top scorer, whose Round of 16 strike was his fifth in the tournament.

"He is routinely one of the top-scoring Chinese players in the Super League over the last few years and he may well be again this year. We hope he will add some more goals for us tomorrow, too.

"While he is very important, all the players will have to stand up and perform well for us to get the result we need, and I am sure that will be the case."