Corinthians duo near return, but Dorival stays tight-lipped on timeline | OneFootball

Forward Yuri Alberto and midfielder Raniele are getting closer to being available for Dorival Júnior. However, the Corinthians coach is avoiding giving a timeline for the duo's return.

Yuri Alberto has been working on strengthening after reporting back later than the rest of the squad. He was in Italy to obtain European citizenship. Meanwhile, Raniele played through pain in the 2025 Copa do Brasil final and has been following an individual program.

In a press conference after Corinthians' victory in their Campeonato Paulista debut this Sunday, against Ponte Preta, Dorival spoke about the players' situations.

“They are starting the process of being available. I don’t know if we’ll have them on the field this week, but I hope so. Yuri and Raniele are further along. I can’t say when we’ll have them back, but we need to be cautious to have them fully recovered,” said the coach.

Other absences

In addition to Yuri Alberto and Raniele, Corinthians have three other absences at the start of this season: Memphis Depay, Rodrigo Garro, and José Martínez.

Memphis is in the same situation as Raniele but is one step behind the midfielder in the process and, therefore, should take a little longer to be available. Garro, meanwhile, underwent surgery on his left wrist and is also expected to miss the next matches for Timão.

Martínez’s case is the most complex. The midfielder is in Venezuela to reissue his European passport, but the US military attack, which resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, led Brazil to close its borders with the South American country. As a result, the player has no expected return date.

Standings situation

With the result, Corinthians start the State Championship in second place in the standings, with three points. The alvinegro team is only behind leaders São Bernardo, who thrashed Capivariano in their debut.

Corinthians’ next match

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