Arsenal loanee Marquinhos has been called up by Brazil for their pre-Olympic tournament, meaning another absence from club football.

On Thursday, Brazil confirmed their u23 squad for an upcoming pre-Olympic tournament, with Arsenal’s Marquinhos making the list.

The tournament is a qualifier for the summer Olympics, with Brazil initially playing in a group alongside Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

Each team will play the others once, with the top-two teams qualifying for a second group stage of four teams.

The two teams that finish in the top two in the second stage will then qualify for the Olympics.

The event will kick off on January 20th, lasting until at least February 1st. If Brazil make it to the second group stage, they’ll be playing matches until February 11th.

That would mean another four weeks away from Nantes, with Marquinhos already having taken time off to win the Pan American Games with Brazil in November.

Marquinhos didn’t play a match for Nantes for two months, only recently returning to make a few substitute appearances.

But the news of another absence in January may well accelerate speculation around an Arsenal recall in the winter window.

Brazil have been incredibly successful at the Olympics in recent years, finishing as bronze medalists in 2008, silver medalists in 2012, and then gold medalists in 2016 and 2020.

Arsenal fans may remember Gabriel Martinelli winning gold with Brazil on that last occasion, scoring in the semi-final shootout along the way.

Brazil will expect to at least qualify for the Olympics again in 2024, and Marquinhos will be looking to help them do so.