Alexis suffers calf injury and Chile fears for World Cup qualifiers

This summer, Alexis Sanchez signed a two-season contract with Udinese, one of his first teams in Europe's elite, but the journey has not started as he and the board had hoped. This week, the club announced that he has suffered a myofascial contusion injury to the calf muscle of his left leg. If this is bad news in Serie A in itself, it is even worse for the fans of the Chilean national team.
Although the club to which the former Inter Milan player currently belongs has not announced a timetable for his recovery, the press in his country indicate that he will be out for around two months. Thus, his call-up for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, in which ‘La Roja’ will face Argentina on 5th September and Bolivia on 10th September, is practically ruled out.
In fact, national newspapers suggest that he could also be out for the international break in October, when the national team will face Brazil and Colombia in the first fortnight. Both in November and, in 2025, in March, June and September, there will be further matches in order to improve the team's chances of confirming their presence at the tournament to be held in the United States.
Currently, Chile is in 8th place in their qualifiers, so they would be eliminated from the road to the tournament. They are tied with Paraguay on 5 points, with only Bolivia on 3 and Peru on 2. To secure a ticket, they would need to overtake Brazil, who are 6th with 7 points, Ecuador, 5th with 8 points, and Venezuela, 4th with 9 points, who are the closest rivals in terms of distance in the table.