Flamengo could be without Danilo for the opening matches of the 2026 season | OneFootball

What happened to Danilo at the end of the 2025 season?

The professional squad of Flamengo returns this Monday (12), kicking off preparations for the 2026 season. Thus, the players underwent a medical evaluation, and Danilo is one of the athletes who ‘raises the alarm’ for the Rubro-Negro.

This is because, Danilo played through injury in the last games of 2025. The defender, who had been a starter due to the injury of Léo Ortiz, was dealing with a strain in the posterior cruciate ligament of his left knee. However, the defender will not need surgery, requiring only two weeks to fully recover.

Will Danilo be absent from Flamengo’s next games?

The expectation is that Flamengo’s main squad will debut in 2026 in the classic against Vasco, on January 21, in the third round of the Carioca. With this, Danilo is expected to miss the first games of the season for the Rubro-Negro.

However, the expectation is that Danilo will return to normal training in the last week of January. Thus, the defender should be available to Filipe Luís for the Supercopa do Brasil, against Corinthians, on February 1, at Estádio Mané Garrincha.

What are Danilo’s numbers in 2025?

Although he was a substitute for most of the season, Danilo was one of the main names for Flamengo in 2025. After all, the defender scored the title-winning goal in the Libertadores final, against Palmeiras, giving Mengão their fourth continental championship.

In the 2025 season, Danilo played 35 matches for Flamengo, scoring four goals and providing two assists. Besides the goal in the Libertadores final, the defender also found the net against Chelsea (ENG), in the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Did Flamengo sign a new defender for 2026?

It’s worth noting that Flamengo signed a new defender to compete for a spot in 2026: Vitão, formerly of Internacional. The defender signed a four-year contract with Mengão, until December 2029, and arrived to be the immediate backup for Léo Pereira.

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