De la Cruz responds to fitness plan, eyes extended run before Vitória cup tie | OneFootball

De la Cruz has impressed Leonardo Jardim and capitalised on Flamengo’s midfield absences to earn minutes. He is on his best run since April last year and is expected to start against Vitória at 21h30 in the Copa do Brasil fifth-round first leg at the Maracanã.

According to Globo.com, he had no minutes in Jardim’s first four games and was left out against Botafogo because of Nilton Santos’s synthetic pitch.

Since then he has started only once under Jardim, the win over Cusco in Peru in the Libertadores opener. With rotation and injuries, if he plays tonight it will be eight successive appearances, his longest sequence of the season and his best since March to April 2025, when he played eight matches.

Jardim has called him a versatile, intelligent midfielder who can contribute when needed. After knee pain in recent years, De la Cruz had a regenerative stem-cell procedure in the off-season and now follows an individual plan that controls his workload. So far it is paying off.

On Sunday against Bahia he was decisive with his first touch after coming on, delivering the corner that led to the second goal as Saúl headed on for Paquetá to finish.

With Saúl out for four months after left-heel surgery, and Pulgar, Jorginho and now Paquetá injured, his availability is crucial. Staff liaise with him to set training plans and assess use in matches. In 2024 he played 41 times with two goals and six assists, in 2025 he featured in 34 games and scored once, and in 2026 he has one goal in 13 outings.

Source: Globo.com