China’s Asian Cup campaign has suffered a blow after experienced striker Qu Bo was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury, local media reported.

Qu sustained the injury during training in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday and was quickly taken off the pitch by the team’s doctor, news portal Sina.com reported late on Sunday.

"The medical team diagnosed a strained ligament, and the team doctor believes he will need to rest for at least two weeks," the report said.

Qu would take no part in the tournament, which ends on 29 July, it added citing team manager Wei Shaohui.

China has been pooled in Group C with Malaysia, Iran and Uzbekistan. They open their campaign against Malaysia on Tuesday.

Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are co-hosting the tournament.