Alarm bells at Vasco! Key player suffers sprain, doubt for Botafogo derby

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Papo na Colina

·3 novembre 2025

Alarm bells at Vasco! Key player suffers sprain, doubt for Botafogo derby

The 2-0 defeat to São Paulo was not the only setback for Vasco this Sunday (02). Midfielder Cauan Barros, one of the team’s key players, was substituted in the second half and has become a major concern for the derby against Botafogo on Wednesday (05). In the press conference, coach Fernando Diniz revealed the reason for the substitution.

+ Vasco loses two starters to suspension for the match against Botafogo

Vidéos OneFootball

Player suffered a sprain in the first half

Diniz confirmed that the player suffered a physical issue in the first half, which ended up weighing on the decision to replace him.

“He had a sprain in the first half and put ice on it during halftime,” revealed the coach.

The coach explained that the substitution was not only due to the injury. He was unsure about whom to take off to try to spark a reaction, but Barros’ physical problem was the deciding factor.

“But it wasn’t (the substitution) just because of that. I was unsure about taking him or Tchê Tchê off,” admitted Diniz.

The decision to keep Tchê Tchê was strategic:

“Tchê Tchê playing as a number five would bring more composure to the game, and Barros with the sprain might not have been able to finish the match.”

Concern for Vasco’s next match

With the sprain confirmed, Cauan Barros becomes a major doubt for Vasco. The team has only three days to prepare for the derby against Botafogo next Wednesday (05).

The absence of the midfielder, who has been one of the pillars of the team’s resurgence in the second half of the season, would be a huge blow for Diniz.

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