Why Gabriel Jesus has joined Brazil squad despite huge Arsenal injury concern

Gabriel Jesus has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Arsenal's 2-0 away win against Sevilla in the Champions League last month. The Brazilian striker has missed the last five fixtures in all competitions — but has still been selected for Brazil duty ahead of the international break.

The 26-year-old has struggled with a number of different fitness problems during his time at the Emirates Stadium. The Brazilian international missed the start of the 2023/24 campaign with a knee issue — a reoccurrence of the problem he suffered at the World Cup last year.

When asked whether Jesus would join up with the Brazil squad this week, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta replied: “I’m going to talk to the doctors and him [Jesus] because he didn’t do any training with us. He’s far from working with the team, but it’s an internal communication between the club and the national team.

«The first intention is always to seek the best for the player,» Arteta added. Despite failing to feature in recent weeks, Jesus has travelled to Brazil to report for international duty, according to the Evening Standard.

The reason for this is due to FIFA rules dictating that clubs must release their players to national teams if they are selected. FIFA's regulations on the status and transfer of players dictate: “Clubs are obliged to release their registered players to the representative teams of the country for which the player is eligible to play on the basis of his nationality if they are called up by the association concerned. Any agreement between a player and a club to the contrary is prohibited.”

FIFA's ruling states it is 'mandatory' for players to be released in 'all international windows listed in the international match calendar'. Brazil are set to