Willian has confirmed on Facebook that his mother has lost her battle with cancer after surgery and chemotherapy treatments failed to send the disease into remission.
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The 28-year-old revealed that his mother, Dona Zeze, 57, was suffering from the illness back in September and that she was receiving treatment in his native Brazil.
He has returned home to London and is no longer in contention to face Leicester City on Saturday, but he played and scored in Brazil's 2-0 win over Venezuela on Sunday.