Leonardo Jardim on sparing De La Cruz on Arena MRV's synthetic turf | OneFootball

Flamengo is in the habit of resting De La Cruz in matches played on synthetic turf

Flamengo beat Vitória in the first leg of the fifth round of the Copa do Brasil. However, already thinking ahead to Sunday’s (26) Brasileirão match, Leonardo Jardim spoke openly about the possibility of resting De La Cruz on the synthetic turf at Arena MRV.

In short, Flamengo faces Atlético-MG at Arena MRV on Sunday (26). With that in mind, Leonardo Jardim said it would be a good thing if he could spare De La Cruz from playing on synthetic turf. The coach’s idea is to have other options in place of the Uruguayan.

— He is one of the players who really worries me on synthetic turf (Arena MRV). Of course, if needed, I believe he will make an effort (against Atlético-MG). There was an incident here, against Palmeiras I think, when he got injured even though he only played 15 minutes — he said, before adding:

— We’ll look at the others too. I believe Jorginho will be better, Saúl will be better, Evertton Araújo as well. If we can manage this situation and not play him, it will be an advantage because we have the match in Argentina, but we’ll see over these three days we have to work. It will be important to assess all the factors — he concluded.

What is De La Cruz’s situation?

It is worth noting that Flamengo has a history of resting De La Cruz in matches played on synthetic turf. The idea is to protect the player, who suffers from chronic pain in his right knee. In addition, the main goal is to avoid worsening the Uruguayan’s physical issues, since synthetic surfaces tend to cause greater impact.

What are the details of Flamengo’s next match?

At the moment, Flamengo is once again turning its attention to the Brazilian Championship. On Sunday (26), the Rubro-Negro will face Atlético-MG in the 13th round of the Brasileirão. The match will take place at Arena MRV in Belo Horizonte, starting at 8:30 p.m. Brasília time.

It is worth noting that Flamengo vs Atlético-MG will not be broadcast on free-to-air TV. However, SporTV, on subscription TV, and Premiere, via pay-per-view, will show the match live.

What is Flamengo’s position in the standings?

Currently, Flamengo is second in the Brasileirão with 23 points. Leaders Palmeiras have 29 and have also played one more match than the Rubro-Negro. Rounding out the top four are Fluminense (23) and São Paulo (20), respectively.

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