CARACAS, Nov 8 (Reuters) – The Venezuelan soccer team’s historic top scorer, Salomón Rondón, said on Monday that for physical reasons he will not be with “Vinotinto” in the double date for the South American qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The team’s interim technical director, Leonardo González, called up 26 players, including the forward and the midfielder and captain, Tomás Rincón, for the matches against Ecuador and Peru. González assumed the selection after the departure of Portuguese José Peseiro in the middle of the year.
“It hurts every time I can’t be part of it and it’s very difficult to see it from afar. But I have to be honest with myself and with that shirt that I love and value so much: I am not in the fullness that I would like to be able to give myself to the maximum and defend it as it deserves right now, “Rondón said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
Rondón of Everton Football Club said his last minute arrival in England, without preseason and in the middle of a string of games, affected him.
But the forward, who hopes to get 100 percent to play in the future with his country, assured that the squad will defend Venezuela “to the maximum” in both games.
The Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) later confirmed his absence and said that it expects his full recovery for the next matches.
The 32-year-old forward, who returned to the Premier League after a stint in Russian football, had been left out due to an injury from the last Copa América, on a payroll that had several casualties and a renewal of the Venezuelan squad after key players test positive for COVID-19.
The forward also did not attend the triple date in October at the request of his club.
Venezuela, which ranks last in the tie with 7 points, will visit Ecuador on November 11 and then host Peru on November 16.
(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago. Edited by Rodrigo Charme)