Rovers and Chile have come to a new agreement that will see Ben Brereton feature in all three World Cup qualifiers this month.

Brereton travelled to meet up with the national team after scoring his 10th goal of a productive season in the defeat at Blackpool.

His ever-present run in the side will come to an end against Coventry City after the international break, but Rovers hope that will be the only match he misses because of his commitments with Chile.

The 22-year-old missed the September qualifiers owing to concerns over the quarantine requirements on his return, with a compromise reached that would have seen Brereton feature in two of the three October fixtures.

But with an exemption now in place for double-jabbed footballers returning from red list countries, and no 10-day quarantine requirement, Rovers have now given permission for Brereton to feature in Chile’s three qualifiers before returning to the UK.

 That will see him miss the visit of Coventry City on October 16, but Rovers hope to have him available for the trip to QPR three days later.
Mowbray foresees no issue with allowing Ben Brereton to play in all three World Cup qualifiers after the club struck a new agreement with the Chilean Football Association.

Talks have been extensive between Rovers and the Chilean FA over the last month ever since Brereton was withdrawn from the squad for the three September qualifiers.

That was a collective decision made by Premier League and EFL clubs over the quarantine requirements for players returning to the UK from red list countries.

Chile lobbied FIFA to sanction Rovers after last month’s withdrawal which would have seen Brereton miss two matches. On the eve of the Luton Town fixture an agreement was struck that the attacker would be released for the October matches and as a result the FIFA action was withdrawn.

Ahead of Rovers’ weekend defeat at Blackpool, Chilean director of football Francis Cagigao announced that Brereton would now be available for all three qualifiers, a stance confirmed by Mowbray.

Brereton will miss the game with Coventry City after the break on October 16, with Chile’s game with Venezuela not taking place until the early hours of October 15 UK time, but Mowbray hopes he will be available for the game at QPR.

Brereton will be required to quarantine, but will be able to train and play matches during the 10-day period, giving hope he will be able to feature against QPR on October 19.

“Things have changed regarding the quarantine and that shouldn’t be an issue for us, other than he will miss that first game,” Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“He won’t be back until the Saturday morning, but it is what it is, it’s not just us.

“He should be able to quarantine in a designated hotel and come and train every day on the back of that and fingers crossed for us he can have a private trip to London and he’ll be available against QPR.

“Hopefully he’ll then be in the scheme of things after his quarantine.”

Lines of communication between Rovers and Chile have been regular within the last month, with Watford defender Francisco Sierralta also set to feature in all three matches.

Chile face an uphill task to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after taking just one point from their three matches in September left them eighth at the halfway stage of the South American qualification stage.

They face Peru (October 8), Paraguay (October 11) and Venezuela (October 15) over the course of the next fortnight as Martin Lasarte’s side bid for an upturn in fortunes.

Brereton scored on his 100th Rovers appearance, making it 10 in 11 matches this season and six in his last three outings after netting at Blackpool.

He volleyed home a John Buckley cross to get Rovers back in the game after a disappointing first half, but Mowbray believes there is still more to come from his £6m man.

He added: “First half he wasn’t very good, let’s be honest.

“Don’t get carried away with that, Ben is still a young player with lots to learn and lots of growth.

“He’s a fantastic human being with a growth mindset and he will learn and grow and hopefully the goals will keep coming for him.

“Let’s hope he has a good time away with Chile, comes back fit, and keeps scoring goals.”