Luiz Gustavo returns: São Paulo clear midfielder to play again | OneFootball

Midfielder Luiz Gustavo has been cleared to return to action and will strengthen São Paulo in this final stretch of the season. The great news was announced by the club on Tuesday afternoon (16).

Recovered from a pulmonary thromboembolism, the experienced player had a consultation with a specialist doctor on Monday afternoon (15) and was cleared to return to activities without any restrictions starting this Saturday (20), when the process of discontinuing the anticoagulant medication he had been taking since April will be completed.

Luiz had been following a specific recovery protocol, where he could work with the rest of the squad in ball activities, but with impact restrictions to avoid any type of bleeding that could hinder his recovery.

With the clearance, the number 16 will be available to coach Hernán Crespo for the remainder of the season and could even be a surprise inclusion in the Tricolor’s classic against Santos on Sunday (21), in the Brasileirão.

The day the midfielder returns to regular training is the only date São Paulo will have to prepare before the derby, since they play in Ecuador on Thursday (18), give the main squad a day off on Friday (19), and hold a preparatory session for the match against Santos on Saturday (20), already with Luiz Gustavo in the group.

The greatest likelihood, however, is that he will return for the big Libertadores showdown against LDU at Morumbi, which is expected to be packed (read ticket information here), on the 25th, for the second leg of the quarterfinals.

Given the absence of so many players in the position, with the squad plagued by injuries, Luiz Gustavo is also being considered to play as a center-back in Hernán Crespo’s system, when necessary. He is another key reinforcement joining Tricolor for this crucial final stretch of the year.

History

On April 5, before the trip to Belo Horizonte where Tricolor faced Atlético-MG in the Brasileirão, Luiz Gustavo complained of chest pains, was evaluated by the club’s medical department, and was immediately sent to Hospital Albert Einstein, where imaging tests detected a pulmonary thromboembolism. The player was hospitalized for three days and discharged on the 8th.

Monitored by a specialist and following a specific recovery protocol, the athlete was unable to perform physical activities until June 17, when he began physical reconditioning work at CT da Barra Funda. Under the supervision of the fitness staff, he started with light activities, including mobility exercises and running on the field.

On July 25, Luiz Gustavo had his first training session with the rest of the squad, still without physical contact, supplementing the strength exercises he was doing with the group, in addition to his specific schedule, whose progress was always subject to new evaluations with the specialist doctor.

On September 15, the player returned to Hospital Albert Einstein for a chest CT angiography and a cardiopulmonary exercise test, which validated the success of the protocol used and enabled the player’s return to normal activities.

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