Willian gives hopeful injury prognosis, looks forward to linking up with new Brazil head coach Tite

Chelsea attacking midfielder Willian has rarely missed time due to injury in his three seasons at Chelsea, but thanks to a minor calf injury, he was not in the matchday squad against Watford last weekend. His presence was sorely missed, as his replacement, Pedro put in a rather poor shift as the right winger in Conte’s 4-1-4-1.

Talking to the Brazil press, Willian addressed his injury situation, which doesn’t sound too bad.

"During training last Friday I felt a twinge from my calf but I still travelled to play on Saturday. In the morning I had a test and we thought it would be best not to risk worsening my situation. I believe that in the next game I will be ready to play and [today] I should train again with my teammates."

Given the good prognosis, Willian received his usual call-up to the Brazilian national team for the upcoming international break. He’s once again the only Chelsea player called up (sorry, Oscar), and he’s looking forward to working with new head coach Tite, who replaced Dunga earlier this summer.

"Surely there are big expectations. We are all aware of Tite's work at Corinthians and the quality he has as a coach. Every player who has worked with him has given rave reviews on his work."

-Willian; Source: SporTV via ESPN Brasil

The full squad list for the games against Ecuador and Colombia, set to take place on September 1st and 6th respectively, is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Roma), Marcelo Grohe (Grêmio), Weverton (Atlético-PR);

Defenders: Miranda (Inter Milan), Gil (Shandong Luneng), Marquinhos (Paris Saint Germain), Rodrigo Caio (São Paulo), Fagner (Corinthians), Daniel Alves (Juventus), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atlético Madrid);

Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Rafael Carioca (Atlético-MG), Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Giuliano (Zenit St. Petersburg), Willian (Chelsea), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Lucas Lima (Santos);

Forwards: Neymar (Barcelona); Gabriel Barbosa (Santos); Gabriel Jesus (Palmeiras); Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk).