Willian set to miss start of Chelsea pre-season

Chelsea forward Willian looks set to be absent for the start of pre-season after being named as an emergency call-up to Brazil’s Copa America squad.

Manager Tite has called on the 30-year-old to replace Neymar at the summer tournament following the Paris Saint-Germain star’s devastating ankle injury.

Neymar reluctantly withdrew from the hosts’ squad on Thursday and Willian was announced as his replacement on Friday, inheriting the no. 10 shirt.

Twitter: OFFICIAL:

Willian has been called up to the 2019 Copa America. He will replace Neymar and take his number 10 shirt. https://t.co/Tei31nAN0p (@BrazilEdition3)

Brazil are one of the tournament favourites and if they reach the final on July 7, Willian will miss a chunk of the Blues’ preparations ahead of a daunting season, state football.london.

It’s not a major problem – he did the same last summer following the World Cup in which he sported the no. 19 shirt – as plenty of other Premier League representatives could be doing the same.

Despite the departure of Eden Hazard, Willian isn’t expected to have a starting role at Chelsea next season and the Copa America could realistically be his last major tournament with his nation.