The players River will have back for the Clausura last 16 | OneFootball

Although the current football performance of the team does not inspire any kind of hope, Marcelo Gallardo starts the week with good news: for the round of 16, his River side will be able to count on five of the players who were absent against Vélez in Liniers. There could even be a sixth return, but that will be decided during the upcoming training sessions.

Having served their suspension for five yellow cards, Lucas Martínez Quarta and Marcos Acuña will be available for next Sunday; both will certainly be starters. The same goes for Gonzalo Montiel, who, although dealing with a knee issue, will be present and will replace the injured Fabricio Bustos. The other two returning players will be Kevin Castaño and Matías Galarza, who are coming back these days after playing with their respective national teams. The Colombian is more likely to start than the Paraguayan.

The case that will depend on physical recovery is Facundo Colidio. Next Sunday, the forward will have completed three weeks of recovery from the tear in his left hamstring suffered against Gimnasia at the Monumental, and he would just make it in time. If he joins training normally in the coming days, he will be available as an option for the round of 16 without any problem.

Bustos will be sidelined due to the injury suffered at José Amalfitani and joins the already confirmed absences of Maximiliano Meza, who underwent surgery for an avulsion of the patellar tendon in his left knee, as well as Germán Pezzella and Giorgio Costantini, both recovering from surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Stumbling and with wounds that will take time to heal, River finished the regular phase of the Torneo Clausura in sixth place in Group B. Monday's matches will determine their round of 16 opponent. There are four options: Unión, Racing, Central Córdoba, and Barracas Central. Gallardo's team will face one of them next weekend. With many returns, but still without hope.

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