8 days before Boca's Libertadores debut, Zeballos trains apart: when back? | OneFootball

With their minds on this Thursday’s clash against Talleres de Córdoba, Boca are looking to start a tough run of matches in the best possible way. In that regard, Claudio Úbeda needs to have as many players available as possible to face a stretch that includes their Copa Libertadores debut and the Superclásico against River. And Exequiel Zeballos is still missing…

It is worth remembering that the Changuito suffered a grade 3 injury to his left hamstring, the most serious type of muscle injury, so the time needed to return to action is longer than usual. It happened at the beginning of February and, generally speaking, an estimated recovery period of around two months is usually expected to return in optimal physical condition.

The truth is that Zeballos is still training separately. With the Copa Libertadores opener as his target, the 23-year-old forward is aiming to be available to the coach for the visit to Universidad Católica on the first matchday of the group stage. However, his place in the squad that will travel to Chile has not yet been confirmed.

Although in the days leading up to the match against Talleres it was expected that the Chango would return to training alongside his teammates, the recovery timeline indicates that he is still not in condition to be pushed at 100%. For that reason and following the recommendations of the medical staff, Úbeda is keeping him on the sidelines and waiting for the green light to bring him back into the group.

On the other hand, Santiago Ascacibar and Milton Giménez have returned to training normally. Both players are also aiming to get back on the pitch for the international opener, but that will depend on how they respond in the coming training sessions. In fact, depending on their performances in those workouts, they could be included in the squad for the Talleres match, although it is still not known for certain whether that will happen.

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