Thomas Tuchel will have to select his Chelsea team for the visit of Aston Villa without key defender Thiago Silva
Chelsea fans have been left furious with the news that Thiago Silva will not be allowed to play against Aston Villa this weekend.
The centre-back was part of the Brazil team that made it to the Copa America final in the summer but was blocked from travelling to South America for World Cup Qualifiers last week because he would have to miss matches due to the requirement to quarantine on his return.
The Brazilian Football Association has however asked FIFA to invoke the ‘five-day rule’ which will ban players who did not travel to their country after an international call-up.
Premier League clubs blocked Brazilian players from going to South America but Villa allowed Argentina duo Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez to travel to the continent for their games against Venezuela and Brazil.
Both players have now travelled to Croatia which will allow them to continue training in a green-list country, before they return to the UK next week in time for Villa’s second Premier League game of the month against Everton.
Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, a Brazilian, was not included in the squad for his country’s matches so was not blocked from joining up with Brazil so he can play against Chelsea.
Other clubs who will be impacted include Manchester City, Manchester United Liverpool and Leeds United.
Chelsea fans across social media have shared their disapproval of the ruling, which is a major blow for the Blues ahead of their tie with Villa this Saturday.
