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Willian will replace Neymar in Brazil's Copa America lineup

By Jake Elman
Willian has played for Brazil's national team since 2011. File Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI
Willian has played for Brazil's national team since 2011. File Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI | License Photo

June 7 (UPI) -- Chelsea's Willian has been announced as the injury replacement for Neymar on Brazil's Copa America squad, the Brazilian Football Confederation said Friday.

Neymar is out indefinitely after spraining his ankle in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Qatar. The world's most expensive player also is facing a rape accusation, which he strongly denies.

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Willian, 30, has played for Brazil's national team since 2011. He represented the country in each of the last two World Cups and has played for Chelsea since 2013.

Willian also played in the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Copa America Centenario. He was nonetheless considered a surprising choice to replace Neymar.

Brazilian media believed Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and Tottenham's Lucas Moura were the front-runners to be named injury replacements.

Brazil is serving as the host venue for the Copa America, which begins June 14. Brazil starts- the tournament against Bolivia.

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