Corinthians U20 women’s striker returns after knee injury lay-off

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Central do Timão

·9 October 2025

Corinthians U20 women’s striker returns after knee injury lay-off

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

The Corinthians Women's U-20 team took to the field on Wednesday afternoon, 8th, to face arch-rival Palmeiras in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Paulista Championship in their category and came away with a 1-1 draw. Despite the balanced result, the match brought great news for the team led by Bia Vaz.

Striker Rafa Rodrigues returned to play for Corinthians after nearly four months away from the pitch. The young player came on in the second half of the match, marking her return after recovering from a rupture in the lateral collateral ligament of her left knee, an injury that has kept her out of action since June.

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Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Ag. Corinthians

The last time Rafa had played was in a 5-0 thrashing of UDA in the Brazilian U-20 Championship on June 19th. On that occasion, she was one of the team's standout performers, scoring two goals and directly contributing to the victory.

Throughout the season, she had been establishing herself as one of the main players in the squad, with important contributions in goals and assists that led Corinthians to the top of the group and qualification for the next stage of the national tournament.

However, this was not the first time Rafa had faced a long period off the field. In July 2024, she had to undergo surgery after suffering two injuries: one to the syndesmosis of her right ankle and another to the deltoid ligament of her left ankle. Recovered, she returned to the pitch in December of that year and continued her good performance until the new injury.

With a contract valid until the end of the season, Rafa Rodrigues becomes an important option for Bia Vaz not only in the Paulista U-20 Championship, but also for the 2025 Women's Copinha. The draw for the groups of the youth competition is scheduled for next Tuesday, October 7, at 7pm (Brasília time).

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