São Paulo bench over half academy players amid injury crisis | OneFootball

The continuous injuries of players from São Paulo are impacting the team's bench in recent games. In the defeat against Cruzeiro, as well as the matches against Atlético-MG and Atlético Nacional-COL, the Tricolor had to use many young players from the academy as substitutes.

Against Cruzeiro, last Saturday, out of the 12 substitutes, São Paulo had eight young players from the academy. They were: Henrique Carmo, Young, Leandro Mathias, Maik, Igor Odoni, Nicolas Bosshardt, Lucca, and Felipe Negrucci. Additionally, midfielder Luan, who has been part of the professional team for a few seasons, is also a product of Cotia.

In the victory against Atlético-MG, in the 21st round, São Paulo again had eight names from the academy on the bench: Young, Maik, Igor Odoni, Lucca, Felipe Negrucci, Henrique Carmo, Rodriguinho, and Patryck. The last two debuted in the professional team some time ago.

Finally, this number was higher in the qualification against Atlético Nacional-COL: Henrique Carmo, Young, Patryck, Maik, Nicolas Bosshardt, Luan, Felipe Negrucci, Pablo Maia, and Lucas Moura, the latter with an already established career.

Serious Injuries

The high number of São Paulo academy athletes on the bench is due to the large number of injuries the Tricolor has been suffering. In the offensive sector alone, Calleri, André Silva, and Ryan Francisco are out of action and are only expected to return in 2026.

Besides them, important names like Luiz Gustavo, Oscar, Arboleda, and Marcos Antônio are also currently injured. São Paulo is expected to take advantage of the FIFA date – and consequently the absence of games – to recover some athletes and relieve the Medical Department.

Photo: Rubens Chiri / São Paulo FC

São Paulo's next commitment is on September 14, Sunday, when they face Botafogo at Morumbis. The game will be valid for the Brazilian Championship and starts at 5:30 PM (Brasília time).

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