Suarez to miss Uruguay friendly against Chile

Luis Suarez of Uruguay struggles for the ball with Oscar Duarte (L) of Costa Rica during a friendly match in Montevideo, November 13, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

MONTEVIDEO - Uruguay's national football team will be without ace player Luis Suarez during its upcoming friendly against Chile, sports officials announced over the weekend.

Suarez, who only recently rejoined the lineup after serving a four-month ban from all football-related activity, returned to Spain, where he plays for Barcelona.

For Tuesday's game in Chile, national team coach Oscar Tabarez substituted Suarez with Diego Rolan, the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said in a press release.

The move aimed to allow Tabarez to put other forwards to the test, the AUF said, since Suarez is still barred from participating in eight competitive international games, as part of the penalties slapped on him for biting a rival on the field during the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

"Taking into account (Suarez's) inability to play with the national team in official matches, and after assessing the footballers game during the 90-minute match against Costa Rica (on Thursday), the coaching team decided he should return to Barcelona to rejoin his team," the AUF said.

Suarez's penalties, believed to be the most severe ever handed down by world football body FIFA, will sideline him from taking part in the 2015 Copa America, hosted by Chile. Uruguay will be the event's defending champion, since winning the title in 2011 in Argentina.

Uruguay's game against Costa Rica ended in a 3-3 draw.