Nico Yennaris Photo: VCG

China's national football team convened in Shanghai on Sunday to begin 17 days of training in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

The national team is scheduled to play two friendlies with CSL giants Shenhua and SIPG.

Zhu Chenjie, a 19-year-old defender with Shenhua, was replaced by SIPG midfielder Cai Huikang on Sunday, due to a left-thigh injury sustained during an intra-club match.

"It's a pity that I have to skip the training session due to the injury," Zhu said on Weibo on Sunday. "It will take about 10 days to recover, but I will be ready for my national duty when I am fit."

Wu Lei, the only Chinese footballer who plays overseas, was not summoned to the training session. Wu tested negative for COVID-19 in April and early May, after testing positive in March. 

New faces on the national team will include Luo Guofu, a Brazilian-born forward, previously known as Aloisio. 

The journeyman, who plays for Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, will join Ai Kesen (Elkeson) and Li Ke (Nico Yennaris), the other naturalized players on the national team. 

The number of naturalized players is expected to jump from three to eight by the end of 2020, reported Guangzhou-based Soccer News.

The COVID-19 pandemic has halted international football competition as the world football governing body FIFA has postponed all 2022 World Cup qualifying matches. 

The pandemic forced other Chinese international players to have a special overseas training session in Dubai in March, where they were to prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying games, but the matches have not been played. 

The team was dispersed on April 6, following a 14-day quarantine in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province. None of the players tested positive after returning to China. 

Foreign players and coaches were unable to return to China due to the new entry restrictions imposed on foreigners that began on March 28.

Domestic football league competition has not resumed as the Chinese Football Association (CFA) vowed not to hold matches behind closed doors. 

Adding extra pressure on the return of top-tier league competition is the status of Tianjin Tianhai as the team remains unapproved due to the financial crisis left behind by the club's previous owner, Quanjian Group.