Corinthians gear up for Brasileirão Majestoso; defender has surgery | OneFootball

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians began preparing for their next Brazilian Championship match on Friday morning (8) at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava. This Sunday (10), at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time), the Alvinegro will host São Paulo at Neo Química Arena in the Majestoso derby, valid for the 15th round of the national tournament. Currently, the Corinthians side sits in just 17th place with 15 points — three wins, six draws and five losses — with 10 goals scored and 13 conceded.

The Corinthians squad started the training day with strength work in the gym. Later, after warming up on the pitch, they carried out a possession drill with transition and finishing. Then, those who played more than 45 minutes against Santa Fé-COL last Wednesday (6) did a recovery session indoors at the training center.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

The rest of the group, meanwhile, stayed on the field for a technical and tactical drill in a reduced space. It is worth remembering that the following are currently in the medical department: center-back João Pedro Tchoca (pubalgia), left-back Hugo Farias (recovering from knee surgery), defensive midfielder Charles (right heel injury), as well as forwards Memphis Depay (physical transition after a grade 2 injury to his right thigh) and Kayke (recovering from ACL surgery).

The squad led by coach Fernando Diniz will wrap up preparations for the derby against São Paulo on Saturday morning.

Center-back to undergo surgery

In an official statement on Friday (8), Corinthians announced that center-back João Pedro Tchoca will undergo a procedure to correct an inguinal hernia. The defender’s last match was on March 19, in a goalless draw against Chapecoense at Arena Condá, in the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship. At the time, the team was still managed by coach Dorival Júnior.

After that, he was on the bench as an option in the matches against Fluminense (04/01) and Internacional (04/05). As a result, he is one of the only players in the current squad who has yet to take the field under Fernando Diniz. With his absence from matches, center-back Iago Machado, 17, born in 2009 and a starter for the Under-20 team, has been making the bench. At the moment, the available options are: Gustavo Henrique, Gabriel Paulista, André Ramalho and the Filho do Terrão.

A 2024 Copinha champion with Timão, Tchoca was promoted to the first team right after the youth tournament. Initially, he did not get much space and was loaned to Ceará, then in Série B, midway through that season. There, he stood out, becoming a starter in the final stretch of the promotion campaign and, at the start of 2025, he was reintegrated into Timão’s squad.

In total, at 22 years old, he has made 37 appearances in a Corinthians shirt (30 as a starter), with 19 wins, 12 draws and six losses, scoring two goals and providing one assist. He was part of the title-winning squads for the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, respectively. His contract runs until November 2030.

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