Darwin Nunez handed temporary reprieve after mass brawl

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has linked up with the Uruguay squad for World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Ecuador, having seen his international ban temporarily suspended.

Nunez has already served two games of a five-match ban issued in August following a brawl involving Uruguay players and Colombia fans at the end of the Copa America semi-final a month prior.

As many as 11 Uruguay players were fined and/or banned over the incident, but Nunez was handed the most severe punishment, with a $20,000 fine on top of the suspension.

Uruguay have not called up Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who was issued a four-game ban. Jose Maria Gimenez and Matias Olivera, both selected, are serving three-game bans that will expire during this international window that will make them eligible for the second fixture.

Nunez's is the only ban that would have carried over into November internationals.

The Times report that Liverpool were exploring putting on a behind closed doors friendly for Nunez's benefit during the current break. The striker has struggled for consistent minutes so far this season and is low on confidence, so it is hoped by Reds staff that Nunez will now have the opportunity to play for his country to boost him mentally and physically.

He scored twice for Uruguay in the Copa America group stage, as well as a warm-up hat-trick, which also followed a prolific run in World Cup qualifiers in the latter half of 2023.

At club level, Nunez has struggled to justify the £85m package Liverpool agreed with Benfica in the summer of 2022. He has found the net on his only Premier League start so far in 2024/25, but manager Arne Slot has generally preferred other options in attack.

The player tended to start under Jurgen Klopp but developed a reputation for profligacy in front of goal and scored only once in the final 11 Premier League games of last season.

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