Special visit: Lucas returns after surgery for Corinthians derby | OneFootball

São Paulo received a special visitor at training this Saturday (9), the day the team wrapped up its preparations for the derby against Corinthians this Sunday (10), in Itaquera, for the Brazilian Championship.

Attacking midfielder Lucas, who underwent surgery last week to repair an injury to the Achilles tendon in his right leg, was at the Barra Funda training center and reunited with his teammates.

The No. 7 is still resting at home in this early stage of recovery before beginning physiotherapy at the club.

The attacking midfielder underwent surgery on Monday morning (4) at Albert Einstein Hospital to repair a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon in his right leg.

The procedure, carried out by Moisés Cohen’s team, was successful, and the player was discharged from the hospital this Tuesday (5), remaining at home for rest during the first days of rehabilitation before starting physiotherapy at the club.

Lucas suffered the injury during the 2-2 draw with Bahia on Sunday afternoon (3), in Bragança Paulista (SP), in the Brazilian Championship.

The match marked the player’s return to the field after recovering from fractures to two ribs suffered on March 18 during the match against Atlético-MG, also in the Brasileirão.

The No. 7 had returned to training normally last week after recovering from two fractured ribs and came on during the second half, making his return after two months out.

However, his appearance lasted just over 20 minutes, when he left the field in tears and being carried off after twisting his right ankle, while the score was still 2-1 in favor of Tricolor.

His departure forced Tricolor to play with ten men, since coach Roger Machado had already made the five substitutions allowed.

According to SofaScore, during his time on the pitch, he had 11 touches and completed all eight of his passes.

Before the rib injury, Lucas had featured in 16 of Tricolor’s first 17 matches of the season, ten of them as a starter, with three goals and one assist.

This is the forward’s tenth injury in his second spell at Morumbi, which began in August 2023. In addition to the current one, there were three in his left thigh, four in his right knee, one in his right ankle, and the rib fractures. Those previous injuries kept him out of 65 of the 191 matches Tricolor have played since his signing, not including another four matches he missed as a precaution, treated as load management and specific training work.

In other words, the No. 7 has missed an average of one in every three São Paulo matches since his return in 2023 due to injury.

The severity of the injury changes both the sporting outlook and the club’s planning for the season. Lucas was entering a period that would be decisive in defining his future, using the run of matches before the World Cup break as a basis for possible contract renewal talks, which were still at an early stage.

Overall, the Cotia academy product has made 239 appearances for São Paulo, with 59 goals and 36 assists, in addition to winning the 2012 Copa Sudamericana, the 2023 Copa do Brasil, and the 2024 Supercopa.

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