Vinicius Junior expected to play for Brazil despite injury scare

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior is expected to feature for Brazil in their second friendly of the international break, despite an injury scare earlier in the week. Los Blancos will no doubt be desperate to have him back and fully fit for the decisive stage of the season in April and May.

Vinicius started in the Selecao’s 2-1 loss to France on Thursday night, but on Friday was absent from training with muscle discomfort. Described as a major doubt to face Croatia next week, it appears that he will now be fit for a re-match of the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals. Brazil will travel to Orlando, Florida, and take on Croatia at 02:00am on Wednesday CEST.

Vinicius expected to feature against Croatia

The 24-year-old forward is now expected to play against Croatia though, as Carlo Ancelotti attempts to prepare for the World Cup this summer. El Chiringuito explain that Vinicius was back in training as of Sunday, and that his injury scare was merely mild discomfort. It would be a surprise at this point if he did not play against Luka Modric and company.

Vinicius ‘not far off’ the form of his life

After a fallow period, Vinicius has recovered his form under Alvaro Arbeloa, who noted that he is ‘not far off his best form of his career’ following the Madrid derby. Vinicius came up with a brace to hand Los Blancos a 3-2 win and keep them four points behind Barcelona in the title race. Vinicius’ form and his relationship with Arbeloa appears to have convinced both club and player to advance in contract talks to extend his deal.

Since Arbeloa took over, Vinicius has arguably been Real Madrid’s best player alongside Thibaut Courtois, and currently it looks as if any success Los Blancos achieve will require Vinicius to continue in that form. An injury would be a major blow to their hopes in Europe and domestically.