Brazil have called up Chelsea forward Willian to replace the injured Neymar for this month’s Copa America, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Friday.
The Chelsea forward will join the squad on Saturday before a friendly against Honduras in Porto Alegre.
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“It is a pleasure to wear the national team shirt once again and represent my country,” Willian said on Instagram.
The decision to recall Willian comes after many fans expressed on Thursday they wanted to see Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior or Tottenham’s Lucas Moura added to the squad.
Neymar withdrew from the squad on Thursday after rupturing ligaments in his right ankle near the start of Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win over Qatar the night before. Paris Saint-Germain said he has a “severe sprain of the outer lateral ligament.”
Neymar is also facing a rape allegation from a woman who says the incident took place in a Paris hotel on May 15. He denies any wrongdoing.
Willian has made 65 appearances for Brazil and scored eight goals. He last played in a 1-0 friendly victory over Cameroon in November.
His last match for Chelsea was on May 29 when he played in their Europa League final win over Arsenal in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Brazil open the South American tournament next Friday against Bolivia in Sao Paulo.
Information from Reuters and the Associated Press was used in this report.