During the May Day holiday, Chinese soccer's only high-profile player overseas, Wu Lei, helped Espanyol to a 3-0 sweep of Malaga in the 37th round of the Liga B, and is expected to return to the La Liga stage this weekend. However, Wu Lei will likely not be a full participant in the Spaniards' season-ending campaign. Unsurprisingly, he will return home early on May 18 to join the national team in preparation for the Top 40 tournament.
As the only Chinese men's soccer player overseas, Wu Lei, despite not having many chances to play, faced with the call to return to his home country, he still chose to stick to it. Espanyol is also in good shape, with 77 points after 37 rounds, leading the second place by 6 points and the third place by 14 points. The top two teams in Spanish B are directly promoted to La Liga, the remaining five rounds, if the Spaniards win two consecutive games, Wu Lei can be promoted with the team.
The Spaniards originally planned to return to the team after the May 24th game, but the national team to face Guam on May 30th, and Wu Lei has not returned to the team training for more than a year, the national team urgently need him to return to the grind. Under the consultation of the Chinese Football Association, the Spanish team agreed to Wu Lei early return to the team.
In view of the epidemic and epidemic prevention requirements, the CFA arranged a special flight for Wu Lei to ensure his safety on the way back to China and to undergo quarantine and medical observation upon arrival in Shanghai before heading to Suzhou to practice with the team.
On May 18, Wu Lei returned to the team not only for jet lag, but also to meet the requirements of entry prevention in order to synchronize with his teammates. The national team was able to utilize 10 days of preparation to make up for Wu Lei's absence from training. The time difference between Spain and China also allowed Wu Lei to be in top form when he played Guam.
Although Wu Lei regretted not being able to stick with the Spaniards for the season, it is obviously more crucial to represent the national team and fight for advancement to the Round of 12.
