November's international break will be the final disruption to the club football calendar in 2021 as Leeds United players are soon to discover whether they have been selected for their national teams.
Brazilian Raphinha made his Seleção debut earlier this month, during October's international fixtures, scoring twice and registering two assists across three matches.
His full debut came in a 4-1 win over Uruguay in FIFA World Cup qualifying less than 40 hours before Leeds fell to defeat against Southampton in the Premier League.
Raphinha was present for the 1-0 loss, but was not named in the matchday squad with manager Marcelo Bielsa opting to protect his talisman against the side effects a 15-hour return journey is likely to have had on the player.
Concerns over Raphinha's availability for his club side are valid: he remains one of Leeds' most prolific and influential players.
Adding matches to his personal calendar with Brazil will only increase the chances of the winger picking up an injury, subsequently becoming unavailable for United.
Leeds will brace for Brazil head coach Tite's latest squad announcement this Friday 29th October, which will determine whether the electrifying 24-year-old is required to represent his country in qualification matches against Colombia and Argentina next month.
The newly-capped international was withdrawn from Saturday's 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers with a suspected ankle injury, of which the severity is yet to be disclosed.
Nevertheless, there are suggestions in the Brazilian press that Tite will not name domestically-based players as Brazilian clubs enter a crucial stage of the 2021 Brasileirão league campaign.
That only serves to increase the likelihood of Raphinha earning a third call-up this year.
The Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) have revealed this Friday as the date they will release the latest squad, with the announcement set to take place at 11am local time, which will be 3pm in the United Kingdom.
