Santos FC squad return and begin mini pre-season at CT Rei Pelé | OneFootball

Santos FC is back to work. After the break, the squad led by head coach Cuca returned on Monday afternoon (22) to begin its mid-season training period at CT Rei Pelé, preparing for the commitments of the second half of 2026.

Shortly after arriving at the training center, the Santos players began a series of medical, physical, and physiological assessments at CEPRAF (Center of Excellence in Prevention and Recovery for Football Athletes). The squad was divided into groups, and some players have already done physical activities on the pitch. The tests will be completed this Tuesday (23).

“We divided the squad into seven subgroups of four athletes each so we could carry out all the assessments between today (Monday) and Tuesday. Even with the tests, some players are already training on the field today, obviously following a gradual progression. Since the players had more than two weeks off, we are conducting practically all the assessments we did at the start of the year. The protocol covers the areas of medicine, physiotherapy, physiology, physical preparation, nutrition, dentistry, and ophthalmology. These include strength, power, endurance, jumping, thermographic tests, and skinfold measurements, muscle and body fat percentages, ultrasound evaluation of the fat layer, and ergospirometry, in addition to blood tests and clinical evaluations by doctors and nutritionists. We have also incorporated neuromodulation tests into our new LATEC (Technical Cognitive Improvement Laboratory),” said Santos FC Health Department coordinator Rodrigo Zogaib.

Escobar undergoing mid-season tests at Santos FC (Photo: Raul Baretta/ Santos FC)

Players João Schmidt, Thaciano, and Gabriel Menino, who have recovered from muscle injuries suffered before the break, began physical transition work on the training center pitch. The week’s schedule includes training sessions in two periods on Tuesday (23), Wednesday (24), Thursday (25), and Friday (26). On Saturday (27) and Sunday (28), activities will take place in the morning.

With the first match scheduled only for the end of July, Zogaib welcomed the extra time to prepare the Santos squad clinically and physically for the second half of the season. Peixe will compete in the Brazilian Championship, the Copa do Brasil, and the Conmebol Sudamericana.

“Because of the World Cup, the Paulista started very early this year, with only eight days of preseason. We didn’t have enough time to prepare the players properly. So the injury rate between April and May was higher in Brazil compared to previous years. And that wasn’t only at Santos FC, but at all clubs. Now, with these more than 20 days of mid-season preparation, we’ll be able to do a somewhat more adequate job, avoiding an excessive number of injuries. Even so, we will still have an average gap of three to six days between one match and the next until the end of the season, which is also very tight,” Rodrigo Zogaib concluded.

Gabriel Menino and João Schmidt in physical transition work on the CT Rei Pelé pitch (Photo: Raul Baretta/ Santos FC)

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