Injured Vidal named in provisional Chile World Cup squad

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal was named in Chile's provisional 30-man World Cup squad on Tuesday though doubts linger about whether he will recover from his knee surgery in time for the Brazil finals.

Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez and Valencia striker Eduardo Vargas were also called up.

Conspicuously absent were striker Humberto 'Lollipop' Suazo, a veteran of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, who has only just come back from a long injury layoff in Mexico, and midfielder David Pizarro.

While the Andean country's team are in great form, they have been drawn in a tough group and will need all their firepower to survive the first-round matches against world champions Spain, the Netherlands and Australia.

Chile's Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli has until June 2 to reduce the squad to 23 for the tournament starting on June 12.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Johnny Herrera (Universidad de Chile), Cristopher Toselli (Universidad Catolica), Paulo Garces (O'Higgins)

Defenders: Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Marcos Gonzalez (Union Espanola), Enzo Andia (Universidad Catolica), Jose Rojas (Universidad de Chile), Eugenio Mena (Santos), Mauricio Isla (Juventus)

Midfielders: Jorge Valdivia (Palmeiras), Felipe Gutierrez (Twente), Rodrigo Millar (Atlas), Jose Pedro Fuenzalida (Colo Colo), Pablo Hernandez (O'Higgins), Matias Fernandez (Fiorentina), Francisco Silva (Osasuna), Arturo Vidal (Juventus), Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Marcelo Diaz (Basel), Carlos Carmona (Atalanta), Miiko Albornoz (Malmo)

Forwards: Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona), Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Eduardo Vargas (Valencia), Gustavo Canales (Union Espanola), Jean Beausejour (Wigan Athletic), Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari), Fabian Orellana (Celta)

(Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer, editing by Ed Osmond)