TEHRAN - Iran football forward Kaveh Rezaei will be absent against Korea Republic and Lebanon in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.

The 30-year-old forward, who plays for Belgian First Division A club OH Leuven, has sustained a calf injury and must rest for several weeks.

Iran will play Korea Republic on March 24 and host Lebanon five days later in Tehran.

Iran and South Korea have already secured automatic qualification for the World Cup from Group A of Asia's preliminaries, with the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Lebanon battling for third place and one of the playoff spots.