Once again, tinkering with a side filling the treatment room

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·16 April 2026

Once again, tinkering with a side filling the treatment room

For Ezequiel Medrán, the match against Deportivo Morón stopped being just a risky away trip and turned into a real test of squad depth. With the confirmed absences of Julián Marcioni and Mauro Peinipil, the Sabalero’s structure enters a phase of “in-flight repair,” where rotation will be key to keeping pace.

The forced game plan: The tactical puzzle in defense and attack

Without Peinipil (quadriceps tear) or Marcioni (fiber injury), the coaching staff must activate “Plan B” in two key areas:

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The defensive lock: Peinipil’s absence, which will sideline him for at least three weeks, hands the starting spot back to Emanuel Beltrán. The task is no small one: to maintain balance on a flank that had been running smoothly and now loses its immediate attacking thrust.
The question of attacking spark: Up front, Matías Godoy is shaping up as the “firefighter” to fill Marcioni’s vacancy. The doubt is whether Medrán will go for pure verticality or decide to reshuffle Ignacio Lago’s role to make up for the lack of width out wide.

Resisting the “Injury Room Effect”

It’s not just the last two. Colón has been dealing with a growing list of absences that is starting to stretch the squad thin:

Leandro Allende is still working on his recovery in order to become an option again.
Matías Budiño remains on preventive rest because of his kidney condition, which confirms Tomás Paredes’ continuity between the posts.
Facundo Castet’s case is the most striking: although he is a natural option, he currently trails in Medrán’s consideration, leaving left back with few strong alternatives.

The challenge: Winning with “what’s available”

Being top of the table means everyone wants to knock you down, and doing it with a depleted team doubles the merit. Colón travels to Morón with the obligation to reinvent itself. It is no longer about who is missing, but about how much those called upon by necessity can give—those who now have the chance to show that the Sabalero is not just a team of 11, but a squad with serious ambitions. With Leandro Allende still being handled carefully because of his own tear, Medrán is left without his starting “wings,” forcing players like Emanuel Beltrán to take the field without a safety net.

But the injury list does not end with muscle problems. Goalkeeper remains a source of uncertainty. Matías Budiño is still feeling the effects and remains under strict preventive rest after that heavy blow to the kidney area that ruled him out. Although his progress is being closely monitored, the coaching staff already knows it will have to wait “a while longer” before counting on the former Patronato player, reaffirming its full confidence in youngster Tomás Paredes to guard the net in the next test against Deportivo Morón.

Colón travels to Buenos Aires with the mission of defending its lead, but above all with the challenge of proving it has the structure to absorb setbacks. In a tournament as long and physical as Primera Nacional, the difference between those who make it and those who fall short usually lies in the response of those waiting on the sidelines. Today more than ever, the Sabalero needs its replacements to rise to the occasion so that the dream of promotion is not halted by a medical report.

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