São Paulo to open talks over Lucas renewal despite serious injury | OneFootball

São Paulo’s board has made up its mind: it wants to renew Lucas’s contract, even after the idol suffered another serious injury, underwent surgery, and is only expected to return to the pitch next year.

The information was first reported by the UOL portal and confirmed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR by sources from the top of São Paulo’s football department.

Lucas is only under contract with São Paulo until the end of the year. And he told the club that he intends to discuss an extension only during the break in the schedule for the World Cup.

Behind the scenes, it was being said that the No. 7 had plans to fulfill a personal goal of landing one last major contract. He received inquiries from the United States, Qatar, and even Egypt. But it is understood that, with surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon, talks are unlikely to move forward, at least for now.

Lucas, however, has never closed the door on Tricolor. Initial talks were held to discuss the length of a new deal and salary. But the response was that it would be better to wait for the break, precisely because the idol’s focus was on returning to the pitch in the best possible condition after his first serious injury, two fractured ribs. Tricolor’s plan is to offer the player up to two more years on his contract.

The attacking midfielder underwent surgery on Monday morning (4) at Albert Einstein Hospital to repair a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon in his right leg.

The procedure, carried out by Moisés Cohen’s team, was successful, and the player was discharged from the hospital this Tuesday (5). He will remain resting at home during the first days of rehabilitation before beginning physiotherapy at the club.

Lucas suffered the injury during the 2-2 draw with Bahia on Sunday afternoon (3) in Bragança Paulista (SP), in the Brazilian Championship.

The match marked the player’s return to the pitch after recovering from fractures to two ribs suffered on March 18 during the clash with Atlético-MG, also in the Brasileirão.

The No. 7 had returned to training normally last week after recovering from two fractured ribs and came on during the second half, returning to action after two months out.

However, his appearance lasted just over 20 minutes, when he left the field crying and being carried off after twisting his right ankle, while the game was still 2-1 for Tricolor.

His departure forced Tricolor to continue with ten men on the field, since coach Roger Machado had already made all five permitted substitutions.

According to SofaScore, in his time on the field, he had 11 touches and completed all eight of his passes.

Before the rib problem, Lucas had featured in 16 of Tricolor’s first 17 matches of the season, ten of them as a starter, with three goals and one assist.

This is the striker’s tenth injury in his second spell at Morumbi, which began in August 2023. Besides the current one, there were three in his left thigh, four in his right knee, one in his right ankle, and the rib fractures. Those previous injuries kept him out of 65 of the 191 matches Tricolor played since his signing, not counting another four games he missed as a precaution, treated as load management and specific training work.

In other words, the No. 7 has missed an average of one in every three São Paulo matches since his return in 2023 due to injury.

The severity of the injury changes the sporting outlook and also the club’s planning for the season. Lucas was entering a period that would be decisive in defining his future, using the run of matches before the World Cup break as a basis for possible contract renewal talks, which were still at an early stage.

In total, the attacking midfielder developed in Cotia has made 239 appearances for São Paulo, with 59 goals and 36 assists, as well as winning the 2012 Copa Sudamericana, the 2023 Copa do Brasil, and the 2024 Supercopa.

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