Andreas Pereira sees Vitor Roque and Paulinho training well at Palmeiras, pushes duo to return | OneFootball

Palmeiras, unbeaten in eight matches despite absences, have seen Vitor Roque and Paulinho step up their comebacks by joining full training on Friday. According to Globo.com, both forwards are edging closer to boosting the attack.

Midfielder Andreas Pereira, a senior figure in the squad, said the pair are in the transition phase and training well, adding he is on at them to come back and will leave any selection headache to the coach.

Vitor Roque has been sidelined for three weeks with a left ankle ligament trauma sustained in the Paulista semi-final. He travelled to Salvador and Cartagena, Colombia, to continue an intermediate stage of recovery, began physical transition the following week, then skipped the Sporting Cristal game to fully rebuild confidence and fitness with a view to Sunday’s Brasileiro match against Athletico.

Paulinho has been recovering since last year after a second operation on his right shin, following a cautious plan to avoid a repeat of 2025, when pain returned as his workload rose in training and matches. As planned, he started reintegration after the international break, moving from small-area work to larger sessions with more team-mates.

This week he took part in most drills, completed an indoor block on Wednesday after increasing load earlier, and on Friday trained without restrictions with the group. Unlike Roque, the number 10 will not face Athletico-PR, with expectation he could be cleared to return by the end of the month.

Source: Globo.com