Darwin Nunez has served just two of his five-game ban but is now free to play for Uruguay in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers this month.
Liverpool’s No. 9 was banned from representing Uruguay for five games for his involvement as players and fans clashed after the Copa America semi-final between Uruguay and Colombia in July.
Nunez’s ban was coupled with a $20,000 fine, and he subsequently sat out of his country’s qualifiers against Paraguay and Venezuela last month.
He was, therefore, not expected to be available to Marcelo Bielsa until the second game in November against Brazil.
However, as per ESPN Uruguay, the 25-year-old has been authorised to feature against Peru (Oct 12) and Ecuador (Oct 16) this month after a precautionary measure was authorised by the Superior Court of Arbitration (CAS).
The Uruguay FA took the case to CAS after the CONMEBOL Court of Appeals opted against reducing the sanctions against players involved in the Copa America fight.
It means that Nunez is free to play while the disciplinary process takes place, with the remaining three games of his ban still hanging over his head.
As such, if a ruling is not decided before the November break, he is likely to be able to feature then as well.
As per El Observador, if the court rules the five-game ban was satisfactory, he will serve the remaining three matches of his sanction. But the AUF is “optimistic” it will be reduced, and he will miss just “one more game.”
In most cases, you do not want to see your senior players subject themselves to possible injuries while on international duty, but Nunez’s lack of game time makes this a valuable opportunity.
He has started just three games so far this season under Arne Slot and, combined with his appearances off the bench, has managed just 307 minutes of action.
