Neymar trains at CT Rei Pelé as Santos head to Ecuador | OneFootball

Neymar trained on Wednesday morning at CT Rei Pelé after being spared Santos’ Copa Sudamericana trip.

According to Globo.com, Santos flew to Ecuador on Tuesday and face Macará on Thursday at 19:00 Brasília time at the Estadio Bellavista in Ambato in the last 16.

Also staying behind were right-back Igor Vinicius and forwards Barreal and Gabigol, the team’s top scorer in the competition with five goals.

Cuca signalled last week that some players would be protected given the schedule and the demanding journey to Ecuador. After flying to Quito, the squad also had a bus trip to the match city.

After Macará, Santos host Mirassol in the Campeonato Brasileiro on Sunday at 18:30 Brasília time at Vila Belmiro.

The fixture is viewed as a key meeting with fellow relegation battlers.

The calendar then brings three clásicos, two against Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil, first at Nubank Parque then at Vila Belmiro, with an away league match at Corinthians in between.

The rested quartet are likely to return to the starting side against Mirassol, and centre-back Lucas Veríssimo could also be back as he recovers from a left calf injury.

Source: Globo.com

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