Ruberto back in River squad: where he stands for Coudet | OneFootball

Sebastián Driussi’s injury leaves a gap in River’s starting XI that will be hard to fill. Eduardo Coudet would be leaning toward Maximiliano Salas, but at the same time, he would give Agustín Ruberto the chance to return to the squad list. The youngster hasn’t played a single minute since the coach arrived and was even left out of the matchday squad for the last five games, but he would be an option for Saturday’s clash against Aldosivi.

The 20-year-old youth player lost ground with Joaquín Freitas’s emergence, and his last appearance came in the win over Banfield, the day Marcelo Gallardo said goodbye. Chacho only had him on the bench against Sarmiento and Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, but never brought him on. After not featuring in last night’s reserve-team Superclásico, everything points to him being back among the substitutes this weekend.

With an outstanding track record in the youth ranks and youth national teams, Ruberto had reached the first team with more than enough credentials to become one of the club’s top prospects. After some good performances and even a couple of goals, he lost his place and, at the start of 2025, suffered a ligament tear in the South American U-20 Championship. Since returning from injury, he has not regained regular playing time.

So far, Coudet has relied more on the experience of Driussi, Salas, and even Facundo Colidio, and his first option behind them is still Freitas. Except in the win over Racing, the youngster who came through at Acassuso has played in every match of this spell and was even in the starting lineup twice. He has been winning the race to be the backup center forward.

Santiago Lencina is in a similar situation. The 20-year-old left-footer lost prominence at the start of 2026 under Gallardo, and since Chacho’s arrival he has not played a single minute again. In fact, it wasn’t until the match against Boca that he returned to the squad list. This Saturday he would once again be an option, but he is even behind Lautaro Pereyra, another youngster promoted by the current coaching staff.

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