Flamengo have Pedro and Samuel Lino for Santos, 2 call-ups ruled out | OneFootball

The two Brazil internationals should arrive in time for Vila Belmiro, but the Uruguayan and the Ecuadorian play too close to the round and are virtually ruled out

Flamengo expects to have Pedro and Samuel Lino available to face Santos next Thursday (8) in the 29th round of the Brasileirão. The assurance came from football director José Boto. On the other hand, the executive treated the squad’s other two call-ups, Varela and Anthony Valencia, as likely absences.

The Brazilian duo is with Carlo Ancelotti’s national team in Asia. The match against Santos marks the return of the Brazilian Championship after the extended FIFA international break, which runs until October 6. While explaining the situation, Boto made the difference between the two cases clear.

— At first, (Varela and Anthony Valencia) won’t (face Santos). They’re playing too far away and won’t make it back in time. As for Pedro and Samuel Lino, we’re counting on them; they’ll arrive in time. They won’t be in the best condition, but they’ll be able to help the team in this important match — the executive said in an interview this Thursday (1).

Pedro and Samuel Lino have seen limited minutes under Ancelotti

Brazil wraps up its participation in the international break on Saturday (3), at 11 a.m. (Brasília time), against India in Kolkata. It will be the first meeting in history between the two national teams. After that, Pedro and Lino will have five days until the match at Vila Belmiro.

So far, the Flamengo players have had little playing time. In the two friendlies against Australia, Lino totaled 33 minutes on the pitch. Pedro, meanwhile, played 26 minutes only in the opener last Friday (25).

In that match, in Townsville, the pair came on in the 19th minute of the second half, replacing Vinicius Junior and Endrick. Deep into stoppage time, Rayan scored to secure a 1-1 draw for Brazil.

Their limited use, therefore, reduces the duo’s fatigue with the national team. Even so, Boto admitted the forwards will not arrive in the best condition for the match on the coast of São Paulo state.

Varela and Valencia play too close to the round

The situation for the foreign players is different. Varela’s Uruguay faces India on Tuesday (6), at 1 p.m. (Brasília time), also in Kolkata. That means the full-back will have only two days between the friendly and the clash with Santos.

On top of that, Varela did not even leave the bench in La Celeste’s debut under Diego Forlán. On that occasion, Uruguay lost 3-1 to Japan.

Valencia, meanwhile, is in Japan for the Kirin Cup. This Thursday (1), Ecuador drew 0-0 with the hosts in Yokohama. Then, it lost 5-4 on penalties, even with Valencia scoring in the shootout. The forward had come on in the 33rd minute of the second half.

With the defeat, Ecuador is out of the final and will play Panama for third place. The match takes place on Monday (5), at 3:30 a.m. (Brasília time). After that, Valencia still faces the long trip from Japan to Brazil.

Boto avoided definitively confirming the absences. Even so, the chances of the two foreign players featuring at Vila Belmiro are remote.

Arrascaeta and Evertton Araújo are also out

The international break has already come at a high cost for Flamengo. Arrascaeta, who was also away with Uruguay, suffered a fracture in his left wrist and will need surgery. As a result, the No. 10 is a confirmed absentee.

Besides him, defensive midfielder Evertton Araújo remains out with a grade 3 muscle injury in the adductor of his left thigh. Meanwhile, Ayrton Lucas is doubtful. The full-back suffered a muscle injury in the back of his right thigh in the 2-1 win over Red Bull Bragantino.

Flamengo defends top spot at Vila Belmiro

The match takes place on Thursday (8), at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at Vila Belmiro. The game will be broadcast by Premiere on pay-per-view.

Leonardo Jardim’s team leads the Brasileirão with 60 points from 28 matches. Palmeiras, in second place, has 57. Santos, meanwhile, sits eighth with 38 points and is fighting for a place in the Copa Sudamericana.

Before the ball even rolls, the game had already caused friction off the pitch. Santos had proposed moving it forward to the 7th at MorumBIS. In an official statement, Flamengo said it promptly accepted the change. Later, according to the club, it received unofficial information that Santos had backed out of the change.

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