Bielsa drops Suazo for Ukraine friendly

Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa on Friday left striker Humberto Suazo out of his squad to face Ukraine in a friendly and drafted in Palermo forward Mauricio Pinilla after a four-year absence.

Pinilla, 26, has yet to feature under Bielsa but wins a call after some impressive performances in Serie B last season with Grosseto, where his 24 goals earned him a move to top-flight side Palermo.

However, there is no room for Monterrey’s Suazo for the meeting in Kiev on September 7, despite his 10 goals in the World Cup qualifiers.

Suazo only played briefly in this summer’s finals in South Africa after two months out through injury and could not prevent a sixth straight loss to Brazil in the round of 16.