Casemiro was forced off in last week’s draw with Venezuela (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United star Casemiro will start for Brazil against Uruguay having recovered from an ankle injury.
The 31-year-old was forced off after 79 minutes in Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Venezuela on Thursday. Casemiro is thought to have played through the pain for much of the second-half and was left in serious discomfort as a result of the knock, missing Saturday’s training session.
The former Real Madrid star was assessed by Brazil’s medical staff over the weekend but was back on the training pitch on Sunday. Globo Esporte report he is now set to start Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Montevideo.
News of Casemiro’s recovery will come as a huge boost for United, who return to action after the international break away to Sheffield United on Saturday 21 October.
Erik ten Hag is already contending with a lengthy injury crisis which has left him without his preferred back four for much of the season.
Lisandro Martinez is expected to be sidelined until December after undergoing surgery for a second time this year on a foot problem while left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia also remain unavailable along with right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The trio are not expected to return until next month.
Youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo are also working their walk back from long-term injuries while Sergio Reguilon, Raphael Varane and Mason Mount have been among those struck down by issues this season.
Casemiro was assessed over the weekend (Picture: Getty)
United’s football director John Murtough confirmed last week the club are now investigating the causes behind their recent injury woes.
‘There are some strong mitigations for the mixed results so far, including 16 first-team players being injured or unavailable for periods since the start of the season,’ Murtough said.
‘That’s two-thirds of the squad and means that Erik has not been able to pick his strongest XI once this season.
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‘Thankfully, we’ve started to see some of the injured players returning and that should make a difference, including our new signings Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount who are still bedding into the team.
‘We’re also looking at why we’ve had so many injuries to see if there’s any patterns to improve prevention in future.
‘Some of them have been impact injuries such as Kobbie’s and Amad’s, which are unpredictable. Others have been muscular and could reflect the sheer volume of games played over the past year, including last year’s World Cup.’
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