Rovers top scorer Ben Brereton says he is happy a resolution was reached that will allow him to feature in Chile’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Brereton was not involved in the September qualifiers, despite being named in Martin Lasarte’s squad, due to concerns over quarantine rules upon his return from south America.
A compromise was reached for the October matches which will see Brereton feature in games against Peru and Paraguay, but miss the final fixture against Venezuela so to return to the UK and limit the number of Rovers matches he will be forced to miss.
The exemption for players who are double vaccinated, which Brereton is understood to be, will be cut from 10 to five, which is likely see Brereton only miss the Coventry City visit on October 16 because of quarantine requirements.
Brereton who has five Chile caps said: “I’ve been speaking with Blackburn and Chile and think we’ve sorted something out for this international break.
“I’m planning to go on Sunday and then we’ll see what the exemptions are, I’ll get told what I’m doing and I’m happy to go over there and represent my country.”
It will be the first time that Brereton has had to juggle club and country commitments, a task made more difficult by the restrictions around coronavirus which saw him miss the September qualifiers.
Without him, Chile picked up just one point, and scored one goal, as they slipped to eighth in the 10-team south American qualification group.
But happy to juggle both commitments, Brereton said: “It’s pretty simple, every player in the Premier League does it, playing internationally and for their club, and I have just got to focus on both and it feels good for me.”
Brereton will join up with the national team after the weekend trip to Blackpool on the back of a hat-trick against Cardiff City and double against Huddersfield Town.
That moved him within one of double figures for the first time in his career, with a new lease of life given to Brereton after his achievements on the international stage, and he says the spotlight now on him is something that has taken some getting used to.
But he added: “I’m thankful for all the support I’ve been getting from Blackburn fans, from Chile fans, and it’s really given me confidence and a motivation and I feel we can push on this season and I’m happy with where I am.”
Thomas Kaminski has also had time away from Rovers with the Belgium national team, and he understands the frustration Brereton will have had at the situation he found himself in last month.
Kaminski didn’t face the same issues during his time away with the Red Devils, but said: “When I saw that Ben couldn’t go I messaged the goalkeeping coach to check if it was also for me.
“I understand the rules, but if you are in an environment of a national team then the risk of getting Covid is really, really small, because you’re all together in a bubble, you get tested every two days.
“The risk of getting it is really small.
“It’s really nice to be involved with your country particularly after the Copa America he had, but I also understood the club and their position that he would have missed three games because of quarantine and he scored in one of those.
“I understand that he would have been disappointed, but understanding of the view of the club and the Government.”
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