Ramires may miss Tuesday's Brazil friendly with illness

Brazil is scheduled to take on Japan Tuesday in an international friendly, but it looks as if Ramires may not be taking part in the game. Reports are suggesting that Ramires is suffering from some sort of illness, and that he may be replaced in the starting eleven by Tottenham's Sandro on Tuesday. Mario Menezes was quoted with the following when discussing Ramires and any changes he may have to make (via Sambafoot):

"We have not yet set on the players. We will look at alternatives, but the thought is that I make the adjustment so not to mess with what we did in the previous game. With regard to Ramires, it is an open question, and hence we do not move tactically, just move the relevant player. Let's wait until tomorrow to see if we have to change or not."

It doesn't sound as if it's a serious illness, and it's nice to see Menezes being a bit conservative in a meaningless friendly. It is a bit of a concern though, as both Frank Lampard and Ryan Bertrand have also been ruled out of action on Tuesday with injury/illness.

If both Lampard and Ramires are unavailable this weekend, we could be looking at Oriol Romeu or Oscar starting alongside John Obi Mikel when we head to White Hart Lane to take on Tottenham. That would be a bit concern for me, and it leaves us very short on depth. With that in mind, let's all cross our fingers and hope Ramires gets healthy soon.