Toloi still out to prove himself at São Paulo | OneFootball

Rafael Toloi arrived at São Paulo in the last transfer window as one of the club’s most high-profile signings for 2025. The defender decided to return to Brazilian football after ten seasons in Italy, but he has yet to justify his status wearing the tricolor shirt.

Toloi has played only three matches for São Paulo since returning to the club that launched him onto the international stage, all as a starter.

A hamstring injury in his left thigh, however, has kept him off the pitch. The defender hasn’t played for over a month, leaving São Paulo with few options to set up their defense.

Hernán Crespo has become accustomed to fielding the team with three center-backs. Precisely for this reason, São Paulo’s squad needs more players in this position to ensure there are options on the bench in case of injury or the need for a substitution for any other reason.

In the last round, for example, Toloi was injured, and Ferraresi was suspended. As a result, Crespo had only Arboleda, Alan Franco, and Sabino as options to form the back three. In other words, there were no players for this position on the bench.

Midfielders Luiz Gustavo and Felipe Negrucci were considered likely substitutes for the defense, since they have already played as makeshift defenders. Ideally, though, there would be players for the position on the bench.

Now recovered from his left hamstring injury, Rafael Toloi has been training without restrictions with the rest of the squad this week and is expected to be a new option for next Sunday’s match against Vasco, at São Januário, in the Brasileirão.

The expectation is that he will be on the bench, since he has just recovered from a physical problem and has been out of official matches for a month, but he will have the mission of taking advantage of this final stretch of the season to finally live up to the hype that his signing generated in the last transfer window.

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