Luis sees how much Uruguay need his bite
LUIS SUAREZ watched at home as Uruguay beat Northern Ireland in the rainswept Centenario Stadium — and saw just how much his country need him ahead of their meeting with England on June 19 in Sao Paolo.
The winner of the Barclays Premier League Golden Boot, whose 31 goals last season so nearly took Liverpool to the title, has been having intensive physiotherapy at home and will step up his comeback in the next few days as he joins teammates preparing for the final friendly against Slovenia on Wednesday.
Uruguay mustered a second-half goal from Christian Stuani against a Northern Ireland side who fielded Luke McCullough, 20 — fresh from 15 games for Doncaster last season — in central defence and 36-year-old former Manchester United keeper Roy Carroll.
‘Suarez is irreplaceable,’ said Uruguay skipper Diego Lugano. ‘He’s our best player, the one who makes the difference.
‘But, if he doesn’t make it, Uruguay aren’t going to play with 10 men. Someone will come in.’
The fact is, Suarez gives Uruguay that spark of unpredictability and he boosted morale on Friday when he turned up for a team lunch. He showed no signs of having difficulty walking after his knee surgery at the club’s Montevideo training camp ahead of their friendly.
Coach Oscar Tabarez hinted Suarez will not be rushed back to face Costa Rica in the first of his side’s World Cup fixtures.
He said: ‘We’ll not decide the XI until the day before the game. Luis will join the squad this week and we’ll see how soon we can count on him to start a match.’