Manchester United Star Set To Miss September’s World Cup Qualifiers Matches

Manchester United forward Edinson Cavani will remain in England after Uruguay withdrew his international call-up, the Red Devils confirmed on Monday.

Cavani was scheduled to join Oscar Tabarez’s side ahead of upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The last of those fixtures will kick off at 6.30 p.m. ET on Sept. 9, meaning Cavani would not have returned to Manchester until the following afternoon at the earliest. The Red Devils have a home game against Newcastle United on Sept. 11.

Uruguay is one of several South American countries currently on the U.K. government’s COVID-19 "red list," and so the players traveling would have to quarantine for as many as 10 days upon their return, further complicating the situation.

Premier League clubs Tuesday decided not to release players for matches that would be played in red-list countries for September’s international break. Almost 60 players are believed to have been affected by this call, according to Manchester United’s official website.

It is understood that the Uruguayan Football Association took this statement into account and canceled Cavani’s inclusion in the squad. He was the only England-based player selected by head coach Tabarez.

Cavani missed Manchester United’s opening fixture of the 2021-22 Premier League because he was in quarantine as the Red Devils kickstarted their campaign with an incredible 5-1 win. Cavani was once again not in the squad for Manchester United’s second league game of the season, which ended in a 1-1 draw with Southampton.

The 34-year-old forward finally made his first appearance of the campaign for Manchester United when he came off the bench after 53 minutes during his side’s 1-0 victory over Wolves.

There have been talks about Cavani retaining his No. 7 jersey or not considering the return of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. Ronaldo ended his career at Manchester United with a brand CR7. When Cavani moved from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to Old Trafford in the summer of 2020, he was given the iconic No. 7 jersey.

Meanwhile, Cavani, who made his Uruguay debut in 2008, has netted 53 goals in 123 appearances for his national side. He was recently a part of Uruguay’s Copa America campaign, where he netted two goals in five matches but the team did not go past the quarter-final stage, losing to Colombia on penalties in their last-eight game.