The youngster in River's squad for the first time to face Aldosivi tonight | OneFootball

Heading into the match against the Shark, Chacho called up a youth player promoted to the first team this week.

River will face Aldosivi tonight in Matchday 16 of the Apertura Tournament, and coach Eduardo Coudet finalized the squad list with one eye-catching surprise: the inclusion of young midfielder Lucas Silva, who was promoted to the senior squad this week.

The match will be played from 9:30 p.m. at the Monumental, where the Millonario will look to bounce back after the defeat in the Superclásico against Boca.

Lucas Silva, the big surprise

The main surprise on the list is the presence of Lucas Silva, a central midfielder just 19 years old who was only promoted to the first team this Thursday and could now get his big opportunity.

The midfielder, originally from La Dulce, arrived at River in 2016, when he was only 11 years old. At the time, because he was not old enough to live in the club’s academy residence, he had to travel from his hometown and could only play a few matches a month whenever his family was able to bring him to Buenos Aires.

So far in 2026, he has made just one appearance for the reserve team, but his name is already on the official squad list for the Copa Sudamericana, and Coudet has been keeping an eye on him for some time.

He was even one of the eight youth players chosen to train with the first team during the mini preseason in Cardales, where he did enough to convince the coach.

“I’m very simple in the way I play. I like the ball to go through me so I can control the tempo and distribute play,” the player himself said some time ago.

Now, the big question is whether he will get the chance to make his official debut against Aldosivi.

Castaño, left out again

Just as happened in the Superclásico, Kevin Castaño was once again left out of the squad.

Despite the absence of Fausto Vera, the Colombian was not called up for the second straight match. Since Chacho’s arrival, he has played only 67 minutes across three matches and has started just once this year.

His exclusion once again raises questions, especially since there had been speculation that he could break into the starting lineup after Vera’s injury.

Absences

Sebastián Driussi and Fausto Vera are also not part of the squad, as they continue recovering from their respective injuries.

They are joined by Maximiliano Meza and Franco Armani, who have already been medically cleared but are still working their way back to full fitness and match sharpness.

Both could return in the final matchday of the regular phase against Atlético Tucumán.

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