Ben Brereton: Blackburn reach agreement with Chilean FA over October internationals
- Published
Ben Brereton has made five appearances for Chile having made his international debut earlier in 2021
Blackburn have reached an agreement with the Chilean FA to make striker Ben Brereton available for two of their three October international matches.
The 22-year-old remained with Rovers during September's international break due to Covid-related travel concerns.
Chile was one of a number of South American associations to invoke a Fifa rule which would have suspended players who failed to report for national duty.
The withdrawal of Chile's complaint allowed Brereton to play on Saturday.
Brereton, who enjoyed an inspired spell with Chile during this summer's Copa America, had looked set to miss Rovers' Championship draw with Luton Town.
Chile, along with Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay, came to a last-minute agreement to withdraw their complaints to Fifa, which could have seen 12 England-based players suspended from playing for five days.
Had Brereton played in Chile's three World Cup qualifiers earlier this month, he would have been forced to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel upon his return to the UK.
Following the agreement with the Chilean FA, Rovers have now said that Brereton is eligible for their qualifiers against Peru on 6 October and Paraguay three days later.
He will then miss their qualifier against Venezuela to return to the UK and begin any necessary quarantine period to limit the number of games he misses for Rovers.
"We've said that Ben can go in the next international window and let's see what the world is like then, whether red zone countries are still red zone countries," Rovers boss Tony Mowbray said.
"In reality, if he plays the third game, he's going to miss potentially three or four matches for us, with a 10-day quarantine.
"So if he finishes after the second game, comes back, then he probably only misses a game or two for us.
"Let's see how that works. Our hope is that the world is in a better place in a month's time and the Government look at the situation with the professional game and see whether there's going to be an allowance for footballers."