Johnny capitalises on Alex Sandro injury to cement Flamengo place | OneFootball

Left-back Alex Sandro has missed Flamengo's recent matches with pain in his right calf. In his absence, 19-year-old Johnny has cemented a place among the seniors as Ayrton Lucas's deputy.

According to Coluna Do Fla, club staff view him positively and regard him as a possible long-term successor on the left.

The teenager has been on the bench in recent games, earning minutes in the rout of Mirassol in the Brasileirão. He was also named in the squad for both Libertadores last-16 ties against Cruzeiro, adding valuable experience alongside senior team-mates.

This is not his first taste of the professional set-up. Before the World Cup, Leonardo Jardim made clear he wanted to assess academy prospects during the mid-season break, so Johnny joined first-team training.

He trained at Ninho do Urubu, then travelled with the squad to Portugal for that period. He featured in those games and emerged as one of Flamengo's standouts.

On the back of that, Leonardo Jardim promoted him to the senior group, and Johnny now belongs exclusively to the first-team squad.

Flamengo are next in action on Sunday 30, facing Botafogo in the Brasileirão at the Maracanã. Kick-off is at 16:00 Brasília time.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”