Corinthians head coach defends Jesse Lingard and recalls his recent bereavement | OneFootball

According to Meu Timao, after the 2-1 defeat at Coritiba on Sunday, Fernando Diniz used his Couto Pereira press conference to defend Jesse Lingard and said the club would do everything to help him recover his best form.

He explained that Lingard had improved following his March 2026 arrival, enjoying his best spell about a month later when he became a starter, scored and supplied an assist. A family bereavement, the death of his grandfather who he viewed as a father figure, required a trip back to England for the funeral.

Diniz added that a training-ground ankle sprain then ruled the midfielder out of the Rosario Central second leg in the Libertadores last 16. Now recovered, the No 77 featured for only a few minutes against Coritiba, and the coach felt he contributed slightly more than in recent outings.

Lingard has made 26 appearances for Corinthians, starting 10, with two goals and one assist.

He is on a run of 16 matches without scoring, his last goal coming on 30 April in a 2-0 win over Peñarol in the Libertadores group stage.

With Lingard available, Corinthians next play Santos in the Brasileiro on Sunday at 16:00. Eliminated from the Copa do Brasil, they have a full week to train while that tournament’s quarter-finals are played.

Source: Meu Timao

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”