Gallardo faces three selection dilemmas as River return to training | OneFootball

This Tuesday, the River squad resumed training after a day off and is now focused on the match against Tigre next Sunday. Marcelo Gallardo will have to decide who will replace Sebastián Driussi, who is injured, and also whether he will keep Santiago Beltrán in goal and if he will return the starting spot to Matías Viña, while waiting for Marcos Acuña to get back to full fitness.

The 7 points out of a possible 9 and the team's good performance have allowed "El Muñeco" not to rush the return of any injured players; this explains why "El Huevo" only played a few minutes in Arroyito and why Franco Armani is still recovering. However, to face "El Matador," he will be forced to make changes because "El Gordo," his starting number ‘9’, suffered a tear in his left hamstring and will miss at least the next four matches.

On paper, Maximiliano Salas has the edge to become the center forward this weekend. The former Racing player started the year as a substitute and his appearances in these three matches have not been positive. The coach has always played him as a center forward, which gives him a certain advantage over Ian Subiabre, a winger who, if brought in, would force Facundo Colidio to move to the middle. Further down the pecking order is Agustín Ruberto, who hasn't played in the first team since 2024.

In goal, the emergence of youngster Beltrán was a pleasant surprise for everyone at River. With a clean sheet in his three official matches (plus two friendlies in which he also didn't concede), he had his best performance in the draw against "El Canalla." Armani has recovered from his calf tear, but an inflammation in his Achilles tendon is still keeping him off the pitch. His return will be managed with caution, as a more serious injury in that area would mean a very lengthy recovery.

Finally, Gallardo will have to decide who will play at left back in the match corresponding to the fourth round of the Torneo Apertura. Matías Viña is now available after serving his suspension for the bizarre red card against Gimnasia, and everything indicates he will return to the starting lineup to play his third official match in a River shirt.

However, Acuña's physical condition will be assessed during the week. "El Huevo" was unable to do preseason due to a foot injury and only got his first minutes in the visit to Rosario Central. In Arroyito, he came on to address the issues caused by Lautaro Rivero moving to the wing and, although his experience brought some calm, he was also visibly lacking in match fitness. Therefore, it is most likely that the Uruguayan will return in place of Paulo Díaz, despite his good performance on his return to the team.

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