Léo Ortiz out for Flamengo, Varela and De La Cruz doubts vs Olimpia

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Coluna do Fla

·16 Juli 2026

Léo Ortiz out for Flamengo, Varela and De La Cruz doubts vs Olimpia

What is Flamengo’s situation for the friendly against Olimpia (PAR)?

Flamengo take the field this Friday (17) for their final commitment of the mid-season break. For the clash with Olimpia (PAR), which kicks off at 8:00 PM (Brasília time), coach Leonardo Jardim will be without Léo Ortiz. Varela and De La Cruz are still doubts.

Léo Ortiz had been integrated with Flamengo since the start of the mid-season break, but he did not play in any of the friendlies in Portugal due to recovery from a muscle injury. Even so, the number 3 asked coach Leonardo Jardim to travel with his teammates to Portuguese soil.

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Throughout this entire period, Léo Ortiz was monitored by Flamengo’s Medical Department professionals. Rubro-Negro’s initial idea is to make sure the center back is fully free of the injury so that, when games resume in the second half of the season, the defender is at 100%. Therefore, the number 3 will not travel to Brasília this Friday (17). The information about the defender being ruled out was reported by journalist Venê Casagrande.

WILL VARELA AND DE LA CRUZ PLAY IN FLAMENGO VS OLIMPIA?

Varela and De La Cruz are not dealing with injuries; however, they are still under the care of the club’s medical department because of the physical toll from the World Cup. In the national team tournament, the full-back and the midfielder played for Uruguay, who were eliminated in the group stage.

In recent days, Varela and De La Cruz have already started training at CT Ninho and, according to information gathered from people close to Flamengo football operations, the duo responded well in the sessions. Because of that, there is now expectation over whether the players will be included in the squad for the clash with Olimpia.

DOES FLAMENGO HAVE MORE ABSENCES FOR THE GAME AGAINST OLIMPIA?

Besides Léo Ortiz, Flamengo will also be without Danilo, Alex Sandro, Léo Pereira, Plata and Carrascal, who have just returned from international duty. Finally, Arrascaeta and Lucas Paquetá are still recovering from injuries and are therefore also confirmed absences.

WHAT IS FLAMENGO’S PLAN FOR THE GAME AGAINST OLIMPIA?

For the match against Olimpia, Flamengo adopted the strategy of traveling to Brasília on the same day as the game. In this way, the Rubro-Negro squad flies to the Federal District on the morning of this Friday (17) and takes the field at night. After the match, the delegation returns to Rio de Janeiro.

WHAT TIME IS FLAMENGO VS OLIMPIA?

The game between Flamengo and Olimpia takes place at 8:00 PM (Brasília time) this Friday (17), at Mané Garrincha Stadium. In short, Coluna do Fla TV, as usual, will show the details of the match with on-site coverage from Mônica Alves and João Vitor on YouTube, as well as on the website and social media.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION ON FLAMENGO VS OLIMPIA? – With the called-up players and with Léo Ortiz absent, coach Leonardo Jardim will have another opportunity to test more players from the squad. May this mid-season break help Flamengo discover good talents playing in the U-20 team. In addition, players like Wallace Yan and Lorran will have another chance to show the coach a good performance –, said Rodrigo Lima, journalist for Coluna do Fla.

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