Dorival Jr discusses concerns over Memphis injury | OneFootball

After Corinthians' 1-1 draw against Flamengo in the eighth round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship, coach Dorival Jr gave a press conference evaluating the match and expressing his concerns, especially regarding the injury to forward Memphis Depay.

Initially, regarding the match, Dorival praised Timão's attitude throughout the game, including the play that led to the team's goal, but emphasized that the victory slipped away also due to the refereeing:

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

“What makes me happy is the attitude our team has. After almost two months, I was able to repeat the lineup that played against Flamengo in Brasília. What we see is a solid performance, seeking the goal, naturally facing some difficulties due to the sequence we need, but it’s a team looking to develop. If you look at the goal we scored, the ball starts at Hugo’s feet, bounces on the field, goes to the other side, switches sides again, making the opponent’s line move. There are the movements, the passes inside, and the switch of play, then the box is filled with Yuri’s finish. It’s the typical play we execute daily, and this repetition gave us the chance to find a goal in a move like that.”

“As for the refereeing, it was clear once again. The uncalled penalty is absurd, and not reviewed by VAR, even worse. A detail that could have given us a very important result here. We looked for the goal at all costs, we were an incisive team. I would have preferred if that sending off hadn’t happened, because from then on, the game was over. And this has been happening frequently. We don’t have 60 minutes of play in any of the matches played. This is a very important factor, because it makes it harder for those who are pushing. It’s a fact that we need to pay special attention to. It happens to both sides, and it’s taking the brilliance out of a match.”, Dorival Jr concluded when analyzing the refereeing of the match.

When speaking about Memphis Depay’s injury, Dorival emphasized the care he took with the player by resting the number 10 against Chapecoense and explained that the Dutchman said he felt his right thigh muscle “tangle up”:

“It’s a shame what happened, he felt discomfort, according to him the sensation was that the muscle ‘tangled up’, just to try to explain. At the moment he struck, I think he opened up too much and felt it, that’s what he said, that he felt his leg jump. It was on the last ball he switched to Bidu in the play that led to the goal. Then you have to change the setup, because we have two attacking players and were looking for interesting alternatives. Garro’s entry totally changes the context.”

“It’s important to explain. We took every possible precaution with Memphis to avoid a situation like this, holding him back in the previous round, and even so this injury happened. It shows you that we take all possible care and, suddenly, even taking all precautions, these situations still happen. Sometimes we don’t do what we want, but what is necessary to have everyone ready from one round to the next. That’s why we make changes from one round to another, and sometimes people don’t understand. But this is yet another very clear example of that. An injury like this is bad for the club, for the player, and now he will have tests tomorrow. There must be some significant change for the rest of Corinthians’ and the national team’s season.”, concluded the Timão coach.

Dorival Jr will now have nine days to prepare the team for the match against Fluminense, in the ninth round of the Brasileirão, which will only take place after the FIFA break, during which Corinthians had André Carrillo called up for Peru, Memphis Depay for the Netherlands, and Hugo Souza for the Brazilian National Team.

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