Maxi Zalazar sidelined with a muscle tear, out for Gimnasia v Unión | OneFootball

The Lobo's coach loses an offensive option ahead of the match against Unión, for Sunday's Interzonal game.

Since the arrival of the coaching staff led by Alejandro Orfila, special emphasis has been placed on the intensity of the work, both in the football aspect and in physical preparation. Whether as a result of the intense work or not, the fact is that several players have suffered muscle injuries during this new cycle. Thus, Jan Carlos Hurtado, Matías Melluso, Alejandro Piedrahíta, Bautista Merlini, Norberto Briasco have suffered injuries, ranging from grade 3 muscle tears to simple strains. Now, Maximiliano Zalazar has been added to the list.

The winger, one of the first targets in the transfer market, not only lost prominence in the team—he started as a regular and lost his spot after the first two matches—but also suffered an injury in the friendly played at the Cilindro and will not be available against the team from Santa Fe. The muscle injury, a muscle tear, indicates that he will also not be available—at least—against Deportivo Riestra.

With this absence, Orfila loses an offensive alternative, although since his departure, he has played very few minutes and was never the first option.

Nevertheless, the team has already seen the return of Hurtado, and Briasco will be available to complement Marcelo Torres, who has been a pleasant surprise so far.

Still, the creation of plays and the lack of goals are obstacles in the effort to improve the campaign in pursuit of more significant objectives. The Lobo has only scored five goals in the seven matches of the Torneo Clausura, two of which were scored by Torres.

Zalazar's injury opened the door for the call-up of Santino López García, who was not in the Reserve match yesterday. The young forward is a regular starter in Fernando Zaniratto's team and was called to train with the main group this week.

The 19-year-old winger from Chubut has already trained under Orfila's orders in the preseason and left a good impression. López García has 1 goal and 3 assists in the 7 matches played in the Reserve Clausura. However, Briasco's return to the list of call-ups and the recovery of Juan José Pérez (who was not present against Atlético Tucumán) reduce his chances of being on the bench on Sunday against Unión.

Tomorrow, Orfila will conduct a formal football practice to finalize the team for Sunday, with the only doubt being Briasco's return or Hurtado's continuation as Torres' partner.

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