João Pedro has been his ruled out of Brazil’s upcoming international fixtures after suffering an injury, dealing a setback to the Chelsea forward shortly after earning the Premier League Player of the Month award for August.
The Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed that João Pedro will miss the national team’s upcoming games against Australia and India. Carlo Ancelotti has called up Fluminense midfielder Martinelli as his replacement. The exact nature of João Pedro’s injury has not been disclosed.
Softfootball believes the timing is particularly frustrating for the 24-year-old, who had been enjoying an impressive start to the new campaign and was recalled to the Brazil squad as part of Ancelotti’s post-World Cup rebuild.
João Pedro was named the Premier League Player of the Month for August, his first monthly league award. He scored twice and provided two assists across three Premier League appearances, helping Chelsea make a strong start to the campaign.
His form had also strengthened his position within the Brazil setup, making the injury an unfortunate interruption as Ancelotti continues assessing his options ahead of the next phase of the national team cycle.
Brazil are scheduled to face Australia on September 25 and 29 before taking on India on October 3. João Pedro will instead focus on recovering from the injury and returning to Chelsea action.
The forward’s absence leaves Brazil without one of their in-form attacking options, while Martinelli now has an opportunity to impress Ancelotti after receiving his first senior national-team call-up to prove his immense worth.
