Rio de Janeiro, April 14 (IANS): Brazilian football club Cruzeiro will be without forward Diederrick Joel for their Copa Libertadores match against Huracan on Tuesday after the Cameroonian was denied entry into Argentina.

The club confirmed that the 21-year-old was sent back to Brazil by Argentina's federal police on Monday without having left Buenos Aires' international airport, reports Xinhua.

"Joel had to return to Brazil because he doesn't have a visa. I don't know what happened after that. He went into a room and, as I understand, the federal police ordered him to take the next return flight," Cruzeiro manager Valdir Barbosa said.

Joel joined Cruzeiro in December from rivals Curitiba, where he scored eight goals from 20 matches in 2014. He has represented Cameroon at Under-17 and U-20 levels scoring nine goals in 11 appearances.

Cruzeiro head Group 3 of Copa Libertadores and need only a draw against Huracan to secure their passage to the knockouts. Copa Libertadores is South America's premier club football competition.