Ben Brereton has been called up to the Chile squad and is set to miss two Rovers matches.

Martin Lasarte named Rovers’ top scorer in his 29-man squad for World Cup qualifiers against Argentina (January 28) and Bolivia (February 2).

Despite the games falling outside of an international window for the EFL, Rovers have to agree to his release under FIFA rules, with Premier League clubs having agreed to a break to accommodate player call-ups.

Rovers had always expected Brereton to miss the trip to Luton Town on Saturday, January 29 but after the game with Middlesbrough was switched to Monday, January 24 for Sky Sports coverage it will mean they will be without the 22-year-old for two matches.

The Chile players will meet up on the weekend of January 22/23, with training due to start on January 24, the date Rovers face Boro.

Tony Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph earlier this month that talks had been held with regards to the date of Brereton’s release with the hope of him potentially featuring against Boro on Monday night.

However, Rovers are resigned to being without Brereton for two matches before returning in time for the trip to Swansea City on February 5.

Brereton missed the September qualifiers due to Covid restrictions that were in place and despite threatening FIFA action, Chile climbed down on that stance allowing him to feature against Luton Town.

The 22-year-old then played in all three matches in October, scoring in wins over Paraguay and Venezuela.

He was in the Rovers squad for the 2-2 draw with Coventry City despite only returning from South America in the early hours of the morning and has featured in every Rovers game this season.

The forward teamed up with Chile again in November, starting the 1-0 win over Paraguay but missed the defeat to Ecuador due to suspension and returned to Rovers.

Chile are sixth in their World Cup qualification group and likely need at least three wins for their remaining four matches, with two more to come in March, to be in with a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.