"My job is to protect him": Filipe Luís firm on Flamengo player's absence | OneFootball

Viña was injured in 2024, when Filipe Luís was not yet the coach of Flamengo's main team

After the victory over Fluminense, last Sunday (21), coach Filipe Luís gave explanations about the absence of some athletes in the starting lineup. Among them is Uruguayan Matías Viña, who entered in the second half. The left-back spent ten months out due to a serious injury.

The coach chose to improvise Léo Pereira on the left instead of starting Viña from the beginning. The decision, according to Filipe Luís, is a way to protect the Uruguayan from possible demands for performance. It is worth noting that the other full-backs of Flamengo are also recovering from injuries.

– About Viña, we cannot forget that a player who enters the field – no matter if he was out for ten months or two years -, will always be judged at the moment he is. He is an athlete who spent ten months out, and had almost no minutes. He only played 15 minutes against Fortaleza, 15 against Los Angeles (USA) and today another 10, 15. He still hasn't played 90 minutes, nor 45 -, highlights the coach in a press conference.

– I'm trying to make him play to add up those minutes that training will never give. Training conditions, but only the game can give that "plus" that is missing to withstand the 90 minutes. As a coach, I have to have the necessary care and also understand that, once he enters the field, no one will remember that Viña spent ten months [out], that he made an effort, fought. They will demand performance imagining Viña before the injury. My job is also to protect him from that. As he evolves and improves physically, he will add minutes. The rest he already has -, says Filipe Luís.

What is Viña's injury?

Flamengo hired the defender from Roma (ITA) at the beginning of 2024. In August, during the match against Palmeiras, a collision with midfielder Fabinho injured the player. The impact ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee, injured the meniscus, and fractured the tibia of the same leg of Viña.

Since the surgery, Viña has not had the opportunity to be a starter. The left-back, however, was in the rout of Flamengo Sub-20 over Bayer Leverkusen (GER), in a friendly match held in Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, last Friday (18).

When will Filipe Luís use Viña?

Thus, Viña may gain more minutes in the next Flamengo commitment. The team led by coach Filipe Luís takes to the field this Wednesday (23), against Red Bull Bragantino. The match takes place in Bragança Paulista, at 21:30 (Brasília time). The duel is valid for the Brasileirão.

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