Brazil coach Dorival Junior said that Vinicius Junior will play the match against Venezuela, in the South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday, in place of the injured Rodrigo.
Vinicius, who missed Brazil’s wins over Peru and Chile last month due to a neck injury, will return to the starting line-up after his Real Madrid teammate Rodrigo suffered a muscle injury in the 4-0 win over Osasuna in the Spanish League on Saturday.
His compatriot Eder Militao will undergo surgery due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in the same match.
Brazil is burdened with injuries
“I think we have been through some very complicated situations recently,” Dorival said in a press conference on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, one injury after another… now with Militao.”
Dorival added that midfielder Andre and left back Guillerme Arana will undergo evaluation to determine their readiness to face Uruguay next week, after they were absent from training for medical reasons.
He said: “A more detailed evaluation will be made after the Venezuela match so that we can make the necessary changes. For now, we will try to recover from the way the injuries were dealt with.”
Brazil’s all-time top scorer Neymar returned to his Saudi club Al-Hilal last month, after a year of absence due to a serious knee injury.
However, he was sidelined again after suffering a muscle injury in Al Hilal’s 3-0 win over Iranian club Esteghlal in the AFC Elite Champions League.
The Brazil coach continued: “Neymar’s return was gradual. It is not easy to go through a moment like this. It makes you stronger and more flexible. No one wants that to happen, but it happened. We are all encouraging him and praying for his quick return.”
Dorival said that his team will seek to benefit from the momentum it gained after winning the last two matches, to occupy fourth place in the South American qualifiers with 16 points from 10 matches.
He said: “If we can repeat what we did in the last two games… we will gain momentum. Nothing is over. We are showing improvement, even if it is not what we were looking for.”
Morocco
