Without Arboleda, São Paulo begin preparations for Sul-Americana opener

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Gazeta Esportiva.com

·5 April 2026

Without Arboleda, São Paulo begin preparations for Sul-Americana opener

São Paulo’s squad reported back to SuperCT this Easter Sunday, one day after the 4-1 thrashing of Cruzeiro in the Brazilian Championship. Now, Roger Machado’s men turn their attention to their Copa Sudamericana opener against Boston River this Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time). At the start of preparations to face the Uruguayans, the Tricolor coach had two pieces of good news, but also some absences. Among them was Arboleda, who is in Ecuador.

Arboleda did not report with the squad last Saturday and was left out of the match against Cruzeiro. The club obtained official confirmation that the center back traveled to Ecuador, but has not yet made any decision about the player’s future, the report learned. In a post-match interview, goalkeeper Rafael explained that Tricolor want to hear from the Ecuadorian and determine what happened.

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In the reconditioning phase after recovering from a ligament injury in his left knee, forward Ryan Francisco took part in the entire session alongside the rest of the squad.

Alan Franco, meanwhile, who missed São Paulo’s last two matches with calf pain, completed the entire warm-up with his teammates, including technical drills, and then did individual work on the pitch.

How training went

At this return, the players who logged more minutes against Cruzeiro stayed indoors, doing gym work, and then went out onto the field for a run.

The rest of the group, in turn, went onto the pitch for an 11-on-11 session led by Roger Machado. The activity also included youth academy players.

Absences in training

Sabino and Luciano, however, were evaluated at REFFIS Plus after leaving the field in pain and were found to have overload in their right calf. Both were left out of Sunday’s activities to undergo treatment.

Standings situation

With the result, São Paulo won again after three rounds, having come off two defeats and a draw. The Tricolor also moved up to 20 points and will end the day in second place in the Brasileirão after Fluminense’s slip-up against Coritiba. São Paulo are now hoping for Bahia to also stumble, as they host Palmeiras this Sunday.

Upcoming matches

Boston River-URU x São Paulo (first round of the Copa Sudamericana) Date and time: 04/07 (Tuesday), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Centenario Stadium, in Montevideo (Uruguay)

Vitória x São Paulo (11th round of the Brasileirão) Date and time: 04/11 (Saturday), at 4:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Barradão, in Salvador (BA)

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