Peruvian captain Paolo Guerrero's 30-day suspension is a huge blow for the World Cup hopefuls, according to Lima-based journalist Simon Tegel.
The 33-year-old tested positive for a banned substance after their goalless draw against Argentina last month, and will subsequently miss the intercontinental playoff against the All Whites.
- Peru striker Paolo Guerrero to miss World Cup playoff against All Whites after testing positive for banned substance
Speaking to Brendan Telfer on RadioLIVE, Tegel believes the loss is a disaster for the South American team.
"It's a bombshell - you couldn't have picked a more important player for this to happen to from Peru's perspective," he said.
"He's the undisputed star of the Peruvian team, Peru's top goal-scorer of all time and just a very, very potent, dangerous striker.
"Because he's Peruvian and because he plays in Brazil, he probably doesn't get the credit internationally he deserves - but there's no question that Paolo Guerrero is a good enough striker to be holding the line for a top European side.
"It's a real blow for Peru."
It remains unclear what the 33-year-old tested positive for, but Tegel believes it was most likely a result of Guerrero taking flu medication, because of the length of punishment that was dealt.
"We can only really speculate at this stage - there's been some word, unofficial, that it's some kind of decongestant to treat the symptoms of a cold," Tegel said.
"Whatever it was, it wouldn't have been that much of a performance enhancer because the punishment, apparently a 30-day suspension, is pretty mild compared to what most sports would dish out for anyone caught taking performance-enhancing drugs."
Should the Peruvian Football Federation wish to appeal the suspension, they would have to act fast as the national team are expected to arrive in New Zealand for the first leg in the coming days.
Tegel is confident an appeal will certainly be lodged by the federation, but does not expect the Peruvian government to have much influence on the outcome, despite the calls from the public.
"They have five days to appeal and given the timing and the importance of Guerrero to the team, I think you could bet your bottom dollar that they'll be doing everything they can to appeal as quickly possible," Tegel said.
"FIFA would tell you they wouldn't let a government from any country interfere with a footballing decision.
"There's 31 million Peruvians right now that certainly would like the government to do what it could to intervene in some way."
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