Barcelona Forward Luis Suarez to Return in Time for Selecao Match

FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez will return to international play when the Uruguayans visit the Brazilians at Recife on March 25, 2016 for their 2018 World Cup qualifying match.

Goal reported that the 29-year old striker has completed his nine-match FIFA ban. It can be remembered that the football's world governing body suspended the Uruguayan international after he bit Giorgio Chiellini's left shoulder at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The unfortunate event happened on June 24, 2014. Daily Mirror pointed out that Suarez would have been banned from international competition for a total of 636 days by the time he will suit up against the Selecao in March.

Coming into their Arena Pernambuco clash with the Brazilians, the Uruguayans are in high spirits after winning three of their last four 2018 World Cup qualifying matches.

As per the stat sheet from FIFA, Los Charrúas had beaten Bolivia 2-0, Colombia 3-0 and Chile 3-0. Their only loss thus far was to Chile on November 2015 at the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa in Quito. The Uruguayans lost that match to the tune of 2-1.

Meanwhile, the five-time world champions are on a two-match winning streak after losing to Chile 2-0 at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Santiago De Chile. The Selecao have picked up the slack and have since beaten Venezuela and Peru, as per FIFA. The Brazilians were unable to grab a win against the Argentines on November 2015, but a 1-1 draw is always better than a loss.

Uruguay is currently second in the standings trailing only to Ecuador, the only undefeated squad in the group. Meanwhile, Brazil is statistically tied with Paraguay and Chile for the third spot.

Where it currently stands, the top two teams are Ecuador and Uruguay with 12 and nine points respectively. Brazil, Paraguay and Chile are all tied with seven, while Argentina has five and Colombia has four.

Suarez's return will surely bolster the Uruguayan team's offensive potency. In La Liga, the phenomenal striker has found the back of the net 31 times for Barca just this season.

After their 2-1 loss at Camp Nou over the weekend, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone had high praises for Suarez's dynamic contribution, per Sky Sports.

"He is such an important player, he makes the difference. Without doubt, his arrival has given Barcelona more penetration than they already had," said the 45-year old Argentinian. "He has different qualities to the rest. He is strong, a typical No 9 in the area, he is a very complete player and he has enriched Barcelona."

Here's hoping Barca has reformed Suarez's approach towards international play.