Luiz Gustavo returns: São Paulo clear midfielder for comeback | OneFootball

The midfielder Luiz Gustavo is cleared to return to play and will strengthen São Paulo in this final stretch of the season. The great news was announced by the club on the afternoon of this Tuesday (16).

Recovered from a pulmonary thromboembolism, the experienced player had a consultation with a specialist doctor on the afternoon of last Monday (15) and received clearance to return to activities without any restrictions starting this Saturday (20), when the process of withdrawing the anticoagulant medication he had been receiving since April will be completed.

Luiz had been following a specific recovery protocol, where he could work with the rest of the team in ball activities, but with impact restrictions, to avoid any bleeding that could hinder his recovery.

With the clearance, the number 16 will be available to coach Hernán Crespo for the remainder of the season and might even be a surprise in the Tricolor's classic against Santos on Sunday (21), in the Brasileirão.

The day of the midfielder's return to normal training is the only date São Paulo will have to work before the classic, as they play on Thursday (18) in Ecuador, give the main group a break on Friday (19), and have a preparatory activity against Santos on Saturday (2), already with Luiz Gustavo in the group.

The greatest chance, however, is that he returns for the big Libertadores decision against LDU at Morumbi, which promises to be packed (read here for ticket information), on the upcoming 25th, in the return of the quarter-finals.

Even due to the absence of many players in the sector, which is dealing with injuries, Luiz Gustavo is also being considered to play as a defender in Hernán Crespo's system, when necessary. It's another significant reinforcement that joins the Tricolor in this important final stretch of the year.

History

On April 5, before the trip to Belo Horizonte, where Tricolor faced Atlético-MG in the Brasileirão, Luiz Gustavo complained of chest pain, was evaluated by the club's medical department, and immediately sent to Hospital Albert Einstein, where he underwent imaging tests that detected the presence of a pulmonary thromboembolism. The player was hospitalized for three days, being discharged on the 8th.

Accompanied by a specialist and following a specific recovery protocol, the athlete was unable to engage in physical activities until June 17, when he began physical reconditioning work at the Barra Funda training center. Supervised by the physical preparation team, he started with light activities, including mobility exercises and running on the field.

On July 25, Luiz Gustavo did his first work with the rest of the team, still without physical contact, complementing the strength exercises he was doing with the group, in addition to his specific schedule, whose progress was always subject to new evaluations with the specialist doctor.

On September 15, the player returned to Hospital Albert Einstein for a CT angiography of the chest and cardiopulmonary exercise test, which validated the success of the protocol used and enabled the player's return to normal activities.

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