Copa increases Flamengo's injuries and return to the game calendar is worrying

PAQUETÁ WILL SHORT HOLIDAYS TO RECOVER

Lucas Paquetá, like the others who were at the World Cup, have the right to ten days of vacation, but the midfielder will give up part of it. This is because the midfielder suffered an injury to his left thigh in the 2-1 victory over Japan, in the second phase of the World Cup, and is still in the recovery process.

Flamengo has a plan for Paquetá to be able to return to the pitch against Cruzeiro, on August 12th, at Mineirão (MG), in the first game of the round of 16 of the Libertadores.

ARRASCAETA IS ALREADY DOING BALL TRAINING, BUT STILL HAS NO RETURN SCHEDULE

After going to the World Cup with Uruguay and not being able to play due to a calf injury, midfielder Arrascaeta is already partially training with the ball at Ninho do Urubu, but Flamengo coach, Leonardo Jardim, prefers to be cautious and does not give a deadline for the player's return.

The coach even highlighted the need to have a reinforcement to play in that sector since the Uruguayan has dealt with many injuries and is not always able to play for 90 minutes.

"Arrasca is a fantastic player, but perhaps he can't do it. Not only this year, last year he couldn't play 90 minutes. He often has to be managed to keep him fresh throughout the season. And now with this problem of this double injury (clavicle and then calf), he hasn't played for three months.

I don't want to be pessimistic, but I don't know how long it will take for a player with these characteristics to get back to normal. He is certainly a fundamental player for us, but we have to have solutions", says Leonardo Jardim.

The problem with Arrascaeta's calf was detected when he was already assigned to the Uruguayan national team, and generated friction between Rubro-Negro and the celestial commission - the Rio club accused Uruguay of not following protocol and coach Marcelo Bielsa responded.

PLAYERS NOT USED IN THE CUP ALSO A CONCERN

Even players who were not injured in the World Cup are a concern for the coaching staff. According to coach Leonardo Jardim, there is caution with athletes who were not used by their teams and were only on the bench, such as Léo Pereira, in Brazil, and Carrascal, in Colombia.

Alex Sandro, for example, even entered the field, but for just eight minutes, against Scotland, in the group stage.

"My concern is more physical, because we have players who haven't played for a long time. They were in the national team and didn't play. And we have others who were injured and I don't know when they will return", said Jardim after winning a friendly against Lausanne, from Switzerland.

SEE THE DRAFT TIMES OF THE 9 FLAMENGO PLAYERS IN THE CUP

Danilo (Brazil) - 405 minutesPlata (Ecuador) - 360 minutesVarela (Uruguay) - 270 minutesLucas Paquetá (Brazil) - 237 minutesDe la Cruz (Uruguay) - 83 minutesAlex Sandro (Brazil) - 8 minutesCarrascal (Colombia) - zeroLéo Pereira (Brazil) - zeroArrascaeta (Uruguay) - zero

LÉO ORTIZ STILL INJURED

In addition to those injured from the World Cup, Flamengo already has a player who has been in the medical department since before the World Cup: defender Léo Ortiz, who suffered an injury to his right thigh on May 30th, against Coritiba, in the Brazilian Championship.

Initially, the diagnosis was a mild injury, but the defender still has no plans to return to the field.

"Regarding Léo, I also don't have any information about when his return will be. The only thing I know is that in a 45-day layoff you need to do strong integration work to compete again. Sometimes, people aren't paying attention, but a normal player takes a 30-day vacation, comes back for a week of training and is able to compete. When it's more than a month, he needs more than that week," says Jardim.

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