Corinthians begin pitch perforation at Neo Química Arena amid players’ concerns | OneFootball

Corinthians began perforating the Neo Química Arena pitch on Tuesday to speed up compaction of the new surface, helping sand settle and improving stability.

The work, already scheduled, comes amid complaints from players and staff about low compaction and excess sand during Monday's session, ge.globo reports.

During that session, midfielder Raniele trapped his foot in the turf and fell, grazing his right knee, then left training with difficulty bending the joint. On Tuesday he had swelling in his left ankle and worked indoors at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava.

The report said they expect the pitch to be close to ideal for the last-16 second leg against Internacional on 6 August. Before then they host Remo on Thursday 23 at 19:30, then Athletico-PR in the Brasileirão. Fernando Diniz's side are 12th and could end the round in the G8 with a win.

During the World Cup pause, maintenance began after Brazil's women beat the United States on 6 June, including removing old organic matter and lifting the synthetic fibre to level the surface.

That followed mid-2025 stitching of new synthetic fibres, then a September restoration backed by the NFL for a regular-season game between Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

The aim is to recapture the 2014 standard, with this renovation carried out in Brazilian winter, favourable for ryegrass sustained year-round by pitch cooling. A full replacement, first slated for late 2025 to early 2026, moved to June and July this year, with World Sports in charge.

Source: Meu Timao