São Paulo want talks over Lucas extension despite serious injury | OneFootball

São Paulo’s board has made up its mind: it wants to renew Lucas’ contract, even after the club 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 high up in São Paulo’s football department.

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

Behind the scenes, there had been talk that the No. 7 was planning to fulfill a personal goal of securing one last major contract. He had received interest from the United States, Qatar, and even Egypt. But it is understood that, after surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon, those talks are not expected to move forward, at least for now.

Lucas, however, has never closed the door on Tricolor. Initial talks took place regarding the length of a new deal and salary. But the response was that it would be best to wait for the break, precisely because the idol’s focus was on returning to the pitch in the best possible condition after the first serious injury of his career, 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 few 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 in two ribs suffered on March 18 during the clash with Atlético-MG, also in the Brasileirão.

The No. 7 had returned to normal training last week after recovering from the 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, as he left the field crying and being carried off after twisting his right ankle, while the score was still 2-1 to Tricolor.

His departure forced Tricolor to play with ten men, since coach Roger Machado had already made all five substitutions allowed.

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

Before the rib injury, 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 forward’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 have 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, since returning in 2023, the No. 7 has missed an average of one in every three São Paulo matches due to injury.

The seriousness of the injury changes both the sporting situation and 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 at 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.