Injuries open door for Bruno Rodrigues to play first derby for Palmeiras | OneFootball

Coach Abel Ferreira has a major headache when it comes to picking the lineup for Palmeiras to face Santos this Saturday, in a postponed match from the 13th round of the Brazilian Championship. At the moment, he has 12 absences, including his starting strike duo of Vitor Roque and Flaco López. These absences open up the possibility for Bruno Rodrigues to play in his first derby as a starter.

Bruno Rodrigues, who joined Palmeiras in 2024, has yet to play in a derby for Verdão. The forward was available for the matches against São Paulo and Santos, in the 27th and 32nd rounds of the Brasileirão, but did not come off the bench.

Bruno Rodrigues' Numbers

The number 11 was hampered by two serious knee injuries that kept him off the pitch for more than 500 days. He became available again in September of this year and, since then, has played seven matches and scored two goals.

Of the seven matches played, Bruno Rodrigues started in only two of them. On both occasions, he scored a goal in each match. His first chance in the starting eleven after his injuries was on October 11, in a 4-1 win over Juventude at Allianz Parque, in a postponed round. On that occasion, Flaco López was with the Argentine national team and Vitor Roque was suspended.

He then started again against Juventude, in the 31st round, on November 2. For that game, Abel rested his starters after the 4-0 win over LDU, a result that secured the team in the Libertadores final.

Absences in Attack

Palmeiras released seven players to their national teams for friendlies during the FIFA date, among them Facundo Torres (Uruguay), Flaco López (Argentina), and Vitor Roque (Brazilian National Team). Verdão will be without Facundo Torres and Vitor Roque for the derby, but is working with the possibility of having Flaco López back.

Argentina plays in Luanda, against Angola, this Friday at 1 p.m. (Brasília time). Thus, the player has time to return and, if cleared by the Medical Department, could play in the match.

Palmeiras' Next Match

Santos vs. Palmeiras Competition: Brazilian Championship (postponed match from the 13th round) Date and time: November 15, 2025 (Saturday), at 9 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)

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