Corinthians boss on striker’s injury, praises midfielder, tough run

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Central do Timão

·16 February 2026

Corinthians boss on striker’s injury, praises midfielder, tough run

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the evening of this Sunday (15), Corinthians faced São Bernardo FC at the Primeiro de Maio Stadium for the eighth and final round of the Paulistão and won by a score of 1-0, with a goal scored by midfielder André. After the match, coach Dorival Júnior spoke about the qualification, praised the midfielder who scored the winning goal, but noted that the team does not arrive in its best condition for the quarterfinals.

“I think it was a difficult qualification, but the team played with great commitment, tried to impose itself in the match, even without having the theoretically starting lineup, but it was a team that maintained the same posture that our main team has been trying to develop in each match”, the coach began in a press conference.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

“I am happy with this because it is about giving opportunities to young talents who have been giving us a very important response. Once again, André scored a goal, a beautiful goal, drawing attention with his performances, not specifically and only for the goals, but much for the way he has been behaving with few games in the main team, but already giving the impression of being a player with experience, with a history within the team. I think this is a fact that stands out and I hope he maintains this posture”, continued Dorival.

“(The team) does not arrive at the best moment. We are constantly adjusting for this, which is the need for us to enter with the lineup we entered today, deviating a bit from that context, especially because two and a half days later we will be on the field again and two and a half days later we will be playing a decisive phase of the Paulista Championship. So, it is very complicated for us on this side, this sequence of games, mixing competitions, important competitions, where you have to score points, while at the same time you cannot give up the next game”, he continued.

“A bit different from other teams, which have been preparing solely for the played match, as was the case today with the São Bernardo team, which did not play midweek, we had a very exhausting game with Red Bull Bragantino. So, you see that we are rebuilding at every moment, every round, every match. Naturally, arriving tomorrow and observing those who are in the medical department, unable to be fit for the next match. This is how we try to maintain and rebuild the team for the upcoming commitments”, completed the coach.

Dorival Júnior also spoke about Yuri Alberto's injury and adopted a pessimistic tone at this first moment. At 43 minutes, the striker sprinted in the offensive sector and placed his hand on the back of his left thigh. Subsequently, the number 9 had to be taken off the field on a stretcher and went to the locker room in tears.

“It is very recent, right. It is just an idea of what was passed by the doctor, but it is certainly a posterior injury, the degree cannot be more securely assessed, unfortunately, once again we are losing Yuri at a very important moment of a competition. That is why I have been frequently talking about a squad with more options so that we can have the team's development and a natural exchange of one professional for another.”, commented Dorival.

After facing São Bernardo away in the state championship, Corinthians shifts focus to the Brazilian Championship. Next Thursday (19), at 7:30 PM, the Alvinegro will visit Athletico-PR at Arena da Baixada in a delayed game of the second round of the national competition. In the Paulistão, Timão will face Portuguesa in the quarterfinals.

Check out other statements from Dorival Júnior at the press conference after São Bernardo vs. Corinthians:

Was André's quick return to the team after an ankle injury surprising?

“It was surprising. The return was important. We only released him when we were sure and confident that he could be fit for training. I think this is an important fact. We are taking all possible care to prevent a new injury on top of the previous one. I think this makes an athlete's recovery even more difficult. We cannot always make the right decisions for each athlete, especially since you do not know everyone deeply. But in André's case, I think it was a very well-prepared job and a well-managed return so that he could be in condition today. I am happy to see this boy developing with qualities, a football that is drawing attention. I feel he is a very humble, calm, balanced boy with a great potential for growth.”

What is the impact of having a match against Athletico-PR on a synthetic pitch days before the Paulistão quarterfinals against Palmeiras?

“It is very simple, Portuguesa will have the whole week to work, we will play on Thursday, arrive at the training center in the early hours, seek recovery on Friday, Saturday, so that on Sunday we are in condition to have the team on the field. The player is not a machine. This is not a complaint, it is defined, and we have to accept it and do our best to have the best on the field. Who will they be? It is not possible to know. I do not know if we will have the whole team recovered from the Athletico match for the match with Portuguesa. So, we have to wait for each moment, each round, and perhaps outline what we have best”

Were Memphis and Gustavo Henrique left out of the squad list to be rested or did they have any physical issues?

“No, both (Gustavo Henrique and Memphis) went out for training, just as it has already happened with Hugo, with Gabriel (Paulista), it will happen in the future, it would happen with Matheus (Pereira), if he had not received the third yellow card, he would also be out this round. We have to try, in these intervals, to recover a little of what we did not have at the beginning of the season. That is why these injuries worry us a lot, because, no matter how careful you are, you see Yuri's situation, in the second, third sprint he gave, he ended up feeling an injury that will probably be a bit more serious.”

What is the technical committee's assessment of Corinthians' performance in the first phase of the Paulista Championship?

“Look, except for the debut, we had great games, we deserved better luck, a slightly better position for what we did against, mainly, the main teams, the big teams where we did not have any victory, however, we had very interesting games, prevailing most of the time, playing with the ball, having a dominance that was important, however, we were not lucky with Palmeiras and had two draws with São Paulo and Santos. I think it was a good campaign, the team is growing, regardless of the lineup we had in each round, teams that responded, played matches with a lot of security, with a lot of balance, with a lot of ball possession, I think that is what we want. Regardless of the names that went on the field, it was always a very regular, very balanced team, prevailing over its opponents, which were very difficult to involve, but we found important paths”

Is there any forecast for Kaio César's return to the team after the muscle injury the forward suffered in his thigh?

“I believe that between Monday, Tuesday, and at the latest on Wednesday, he (Kaio César) will already be on the field, intensifying work, doing this transition work so that he can be in condition, probably for the weekend, if it does not happen, in the middle of the following week, for sure.”

Will Corinthians focus its efforts on the Brasileirão and play with an alternative team in the first knockout match of the Paulista Championship?

“I keep pointing out that (the Paulistão) is a treacherous championship, a difficult championship to play, we are not directing towards any competition, we are doing our best in each of them, putting the best possible team. I cannot plan, you plan and suddenly a player enters, like today Yuri, even staying out most of the time, he enters and has a very serious injury, we will probably be without him for a few games. So, you have to live with each match, with each round, seeing the problems, trying to solve them and putting the best team on the field. That is how we are, but prioritizing, there is no way to do it.”

Is there any forecast for left-back Fabrizio Angileri and midfielder Zakaria Labyad to be available to the team?

“Both he (Angileri) and Zakaria will take a little longer because they have been out for a long time. Since our departure from last season in Angileri's case, Zakaria for an even longer time, it will take a little longer, it will not be so soon. Fabrizio has a privileged physique and will probably speed up a bit, perhaps anticipate in relation to Zakaria, but I do not believe it will be for this week, maybe at the end of the second week.”

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