Grêmio start pre-season as João Pedro returns after rare shoulder thrombosis | OneFootball

Grêmio have an in-house boost on the right as João Pedro returns to pre-season. According to Globo.com, the defender, out since September due to a thrombosis in his right shoulder, took part fully in Friday's session as the squad reported back.

He ended last season working with the ball under medical supervision. He is pain-free and no further procedures are needed, and there is an expectation he could feature in the first phase of the Gauchão and the opening matches of the Brasileiro.

The issue was rare, involving a clot in a vein beneath the collarbone in his right shoulder. Surgery removed the clot, and at one stage rib removal was considered because the vein was being compressed.

João Pedro rejoined 33 team-mates and trained in possession and finishing drills. He remains under close medical oversight, and now offers an alternative to Marcos Rocha, 37, who cannot manage the full sequence of games across the season.

The diagnosis was Paget-Schroetter syndrome, an effort-related upper limb venous thrombosis with an estimated incidence of one to two in every 100,000 people each year. It stems from thoracic outlet syndrome and a physical predisposition, the combination that sidelined him. Had the thrombus not been identified, the clot could have travelled to the lungs and caused a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism, and he was treated with anticoagulants.

Source: Globo.com