Corinthians squad shows support for Vitinho before Brasileirão clash | OneFootball

On the night of this Thursday (30), Corinthians are facing Athletico-PR at Neo Química Arena in a match valid for the 21st round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship. At the moment, Alvinegro sit ninth with 28 points — seven wins, seven draws, and six defeats — with 22 goals scored and 20 conceded.

Before the ball rolled, as the Corinthians squad lined up for the official photo, they held up a banner in support of midfielder Vitinho, who underwent surgery on the meniscus in his left knee last Wednesday (29) after injuring the area during training with his teammates on Friday the 24th. “Stay strong, Vitinho, we’re with you,” the banner read. Normally, the recovery time for injuries of this kind ranges from three to six months, depending on how each athlete progresses.

Photo: Reproduction/Premiere

At the end of last year, Vitinho had a similar problem. On October 4, 2025, during Corinthians’ 3-0 win over Mirassol in Itaquera in the Brazilian Championship, the player injured the meniscus in his right knee, underwent arthroscopy, and only returned to the pitch on November 20 of that same year, in the 3-1 victory over São Paulo at Neo Química Arena in the closing stretch of the Brasileirão.

The No. 11 has not played since April 30, when Corinthians beat Uruguay’s Peñarol 2-0 in a match valid for the group stage of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores. On that day, he came on late in the game to replace Jesse Lingard and played for only two minutes. Since then, the player had been recovering from hip pain and a hamstring tendon injury. On July 15, he began physical transition work, but in training at the end of last week, he was injured again.

Career path

Vitinho was signed by Corinthians in August 2025 on a free transfer after spells with Al-Ettifaq (2022/2023 to 2024/2025) and Al-Shabab (2023/2024 – loan), with the approval of coach Dorival Júnior, who was managing Timão at the time and had already worked with the player at Flamengo in 2018. Wearing the Corinthians shirt, he has one goal and four assists in 38 matches (13 as a starter) in a stint marked by some physical problems and inconsistency, which have prevented him from establishing himself as a regular starter. The No. 11 is under contract until December 2026.

His only goal for Corinthians came on February 22, 2026, when, in stoppage time, he scored a stunning goal that took the match against Portuguesa at Canindé, in the quarterfinals of the Paulista Championship, to a penalty shootout. That day, the club from Parque São Jorge advanced to the semifinals after Hugo Souza proved decisive.

In addition to the hip injury that kept him out of Timão’s recent matches, Vitinho also suffered a meniscus injury in his right knee in October last year. He ended up spending a little over a month out of action. For Corinthians, he was part of the squads that won the Copa do Brasil (2025) and the Supercopa do Brasil (2026) against Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, respectively. The player has also had spells with Botafogo (where he came through the youth ranks), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Internacional, and Flamengo.

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