Questions Gallardo must answer as River return to training | OneFootball

After two days of rest, the Millionaire resumes practice ahead of the match against Sarmiento with six absences due to international call-ups, plus more absences due to injury and suspension. Gallardo will have to piece together a puzzle with the obligation to win.

The defeat against Rosario Central in Arroyito left River with less room for maneuver. The Millionaire is now third in the annual standings and on Sunday they host Sarmiento, needing a win to stay in the qualifying spots for the Copa Libertadores. The team returns to training after two days of rest and Marcelo Gallardo is set to rebuild a puzzle for which he still doesn't know what pieces he has.

The certainties that the Doll has are that he will not have the six players called up to the South American teams (Gonzalo Montiel, Lautaro Rivero, Marcos Acuña, Kevin Castaño, Juan Fernando Quintero, and Matías Galarza) nor one of the two suspended: Juan Carlos Portillo, who was sent off in Rosario last Sunday.

The other sanctioned player is Maximiliano Salas, and after appealing to the Disciplinary Tribunal, there is much optimism about the possibility that his penalty will be reduced to just one match, served last weekend. And although they believe the outcome will be as expected, in Núñez they must wait for the decision, which will come this Thursday.

Besides the call-ups and suspensions, there are also doubts regarding the injured players. Enzo Pérez, who suffered a deep cut above his knee in the defeat against Palmeiras; and Sebastián Driussi, who was injured in the first leg against the Brazilians, are the two most likely to return.

The others to be evaluated from now until Saturday are Maximiliano Meza and Gonzalo Martínez. The former Gimnasia, Independiente, and Monterrey player is recovering from a patellar tendon surgery in his left knee and is in the final stage of his recovery, after more than three months of inactivity. Meanwhile, Pity suffered a new muscle injury and they hope to see him at 100% to return to the squad.

Given the circumstances, the Doll will likely field an unprecedented 11, with changes in all lines. Of course, the scenario will be different if Salas and Driussi are finally available, as it would give the coach the chance to have all his forwards (except Ian Subiabre, who is at the U-20 World Cup).

A probable team to face Sarmiento would be: Franco Armani; Fabricio Bustos, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Paulo Díaz, Milton Casco; Giuliano Galoppo, Enzo Pérez or Agustín de la Cuesta, Santiago Lencina; Ignacio Fernández; Facundo Colidio and .

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