Brazil manager Tite called up today the squad which will face Colombia and Argentina for the World Cup Qualifiers, and once again, Everton star Richarlison has been left out.
The games are taking place on the 11th and 16th of November, and according to the manager, there won’t be enough time for the forward to compltely recover from his knee injury.
During his press conference, Tite made it clear that Richarlison continues on being an important player for the national team, and his absence will be felt by the squad.
“He’s one of a number of athletes who are important and who, at the moment, you make a choice for those games. They are instantaneous, there’s no longer time like a Copa America, where you have time to prepare,” said Tite (via Globo Esporte).
“He had a knee injury on 13/09/21, he was away from playing for 40 days. He returned to training with the group on 10/18, his minutes is still small. This is also a factor that makes us believe that he needs a little more playing time for him to improve his physical condition.”
This is certainly a big blow for the Everton player, who’s been feeding the rivalry with Argentina for a while and now won’t be able to face them.
Richarlison was back in Everton’s team for the match against Watford last weekend, where he was brought on in the second half and only played for 30 minutes.
With the international break having only two fixtures this time, Tite certainly needs the players 100% fit for those challenges, which doesn’t appear to be the case of the Toffees’ star.