Lucas has seen São Paulo lose one in every three games since injury return | OneFootball

Attacking midfielder Lucas underwent surgery on Monday morning (4) at Albert Einstein Hospital to repair a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon in his right leg.

The procedure, performed by Dr. Moisés Cohen’s team, was successful, and the player is expected to be discharged from the hospital this Tuesday (5). He will remain resting at home during the first few days of rehabilitation before beginning physical therapy at the club.

Lucas suffered the injury during the 2-2 draw with Bahia on Sunday afternoon (3) in Bragança Paulista (SP) in the Brazilian Championship.

The match marked the player’s return to the field after recovering from fractures in two ribs suffered on March 18 during the match against Atlético-MG, also in the Brasileirão.

The No. 7 had returned to normal training this week after recovering from two fractured ribs and came on during the second half, making his return after two months out.

However, his appearance lasted just over 20 minutes, as he left the field crying and being carried off after twisting his right ankle while the score was still 2-1 for Tricolor.

His departure forced Tricolor to play with ten men, since coach Roger Machado had already made the five substitutions allowed.

According to SofaScore, during his time on the field, he had 11 touches and completed all eight of his passes.

Before the rib problem, Lucas had featured in 16 of Tricolor’s first 17 matches of the season, ten of them as a starter, with three goals and one assist.

This is the forward’s tenth injury in his second spell at Morumbi, which began in August 2023. In addition to the current one, there were three in his left thigh, four in his right knee, one in his right ankle, and the rib fractures. Those previous injuries kept him out of 65 of the 191 matches Tricolor have played since his signing, not including another four games he missed as a precaution, treated as load management and specific training work.

In other words, since his return in 2023, the No. 7 has missed an average of one out of every three São Paulo matches due to injury.

The seriousness of the injury changes the sporting outlook and also the club’s planning for the season. Lucas was entering a period that would be decisive in defining his future, using the run of matches before the World Cup break as a basis for possible contract renewal talks, which were still at an early stage.

In total, the attacking midfielder developed at Cotia has made 239 appearances for São Paulo, with 59 goals and 36 assists, in addition to winning the 2012 Copa Sudamericana, the 2023 Copa do Brasil, and the 2024 Supercopa.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.