SAO PAULO (AP) — Lionel Messi will return from injury for Argentina in the next two rounds of South American World Cup qualifying, but several other top players will have to miss the upcoming games.

Brazil, currently in fifth place in the 10-team round-robin competition with 10 points after eight games, will have to cope with the long-term absence of Neymar as well as the loss of injured striker Vinicius Júnior. Under-pressure coach Dorival Júnior said on Wednesday that a little-known striker will take the Real Madrid star’s place in his starting XI in Chile: 23-year-old Igor Jesus, who spent most of his career with Al- Ahli in Dubai.

Brazil will also be without several other regular players in Santiago and against Peru on Tuesday. Goalkeeper Alisson, defenders Éder Militão, Guilherme Arana and Bremer are also out due to injuries.

Júnior said in a news conference in Sao Paulo on Wednesday that both Jesus and Abner, a left-back who will play his first game for the national team, are up to the challenge they face.

“The training sessions showed good things. “Everyone is very focused so that we can play games at a different level than the previous game, especially in the first half,” Brazil’s coach said, referring to his team’s 1-0 defeat in Paraguay in October. “We all have the goal of reversing this current scenario (of only being in 5th place).”

Despite Messi’s comeback, world champions Argentina will be undermanned for the games against Venezuela and Bolivia. The latest problems came during training on Wednesday when 19-year-old midfielder Valentín Carboni injured his left knee.

Defender Marcos Acuña and strikers Paulo Dybala, Nico González and Alejandro Garnacho were already ruled out.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is suspended for the two games due to his poor behavior in the two preliminary rounds. Argentina leads the table with 18 points. The top six teams automatically secure a place in the 2026 World Cup.

Second-place Colombia, with 16 points, also has a few injuries to deal with ahead of games in Colombia and at home against Chile. Regular defender Daniel Muñoz will not play.

The exception is Uruguay, which is currently in third place with 15 points. Striker Darwin Núñez will play after the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted an appeal after he was banned for five games for incidents with fans at the Copa America. Uruguay will face Peru and Ecuador.

Bielsa under fire

Several former and current Uruguay players are unhappy with coach Marcelo Bielsa. Striker Luis Suárez said this week that the Argentine had mistreated players and staff at the national team’s training center, which was later confirmed by captain Federico Valverde and other players.

Suárez, who recently retired from the national team, told reporters that Bielsa “didn’t even say good morning” to his players. The 37-year-old striker also said that the coach treated Uruguayan Football Federation staff badly and forbade players from greeting fans at the last edition of the Copa América tournament.

“What Luis said is all true, he never lied, he never exaggerated at any point, he said things as they are,” Valverde said.

Striker Agustín Canobbio, who will not be in Uruguay’s squad for the next two games, increased the criticism against Bielsa.

“There was a constant lack of respect. I’m very respectful, but we reached a point where I exploded,” Canobbio told Uruguayan radio station Carve Deportiva. “I told him to his face that he wasn’t being respectful.”

The coach hasn’t responded yet.

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AP Football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer