International trainer Luca Cumani’s Cox Plate hope Afsare has been ruled out of the spring with injury.

Racing Victoria confirmed via twitter this morning that the five-year-old will play no role this spring in what was his first visit to Australia.

“@lucacamani stable has advised @RVStewards that Afsare has succumbed to injury & won’t take its place in the #CoxPlate,” the official Racing Victoria twitter account said.

A problem first surfaced last week when Afsare suffered an injury to his side foreleg during trackwork.

It was reported his program was back on track late last week but the problem escalated yesterday when it was discovered that he had filling in the same leg.

It comes as a hit to the Cox Plate and the Moonee Valley Racing Club as Afsare was to be the first international contender in the prestigious weight-for-age test since 2004.

Afsare’s withdrawal leaves Cumani with three remaining spring contenders, with My Quest For Peace to step out in Saturday’s Caulfield Cup, Ibicenco an emergency in the same race and Mount Athos still on track to run in the Melbourne Cup without a lead-up race.