Lippi: Wu Lei to report for China duty on Sept 3

BEIJING - China's star forward Wu Lei will join up with the national team for training in Guangzhou on September 3, according to head coach Marcello Lippi on Monday.

While the China squad has already arrived for training at the Xianghe National Football Training Center, 27-year-old Wu, who is the only player in the squad playing his club football outside China, has been given leave to arrive late due to his club commitments with Spanish side RCD Espanyol.

"I don't worried about Wu Lei at all. He's coming back on September 2. He'll arrive in Guangzhou on September 3 and then rest for a day," said Lippi.

The Italian coach also revealed his plans to revitalize the China squad ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers by introducing new faces into the team.

"At present, we're preparing for the warm-up game on August 30 and focusing on tactics and stamina. After that, from September 2 to 10, we'll prepare for the qualifier [against the Maldives]," said Lippi.

"I want a squad with 30 men or so to prepare for the World Cup. To build a powerful team, we need some new blood."

With AFC Champions League matches taking place next week, of all 35 players currently named in the China squad, only 23 are currently training, with Li Lei and Zhang Xizhe also still recovering from injury.

"Li Lei and Zhang Xizhe will join the others after training separately for the first two days," noted Lippi.