Morumbi heats up: São Paulo push for Oscar, Lucas, Luiz Gustavo return | OneFootball

Even with tempers flaring after the 2-0 defeat to LDU in the Libertadores, São Paulo fans have many reasons to believe in a turnaround to advance to the Copa Libertadores semi-finals.

Three of the most important and experienced names in the tricolor squad are in the final stages of recovery from their injuries, and could indeed strengthen Hernán Crespo's team in the quarter-final second leg of the competition, next Thursday (25), at Morumbi, which promises to be filled with São Paulo fans.

Oscar, Luiz Gustavo, and Lucas Moura, each in a different stage of recovery, could at least be on the bench for the decisive match against the Ecuadorians.

NUMBER 8 RETURNS SOONER

It's almost certain that midfielder Oscar will be selected against LDU. He has been training in recent days and, this Friday (19), participated in all stages of the ball work, which included young players from the youth categories in training only for the players not selected for the Libertadores.

To give game rhythm to the veteran, there is a chance that Crespo will select Oscar even for the classic against Santos, this Sunday (21) at 8:30 pm (Brasília time), at Vila Belmiro, for the 24th round of the Brasileirão. However, this will only be decided this Saturday (20), in the only training that São Paulo will carry out before the match in the coast.

Another one who has chances to appear among the reserves against LDU is midfielder Luiz Gustavo, who has been cleared, from tomorrow, to train normally with the group, after being sidelined for five months due to pulmonary thromboembolism. Today, he participated in part of the activities on the field and will depend on his progress in the coming days to know if he plays.

And finally, who generates the most expectation among the tricolors for his return, but has the least possibility of playing, is Lucas Moura. On Wednesday (17), the attacking midfielder ran on the CT da Barra Funda pitch for the first time after undergoing arthroscopy to remove fibrosis in his right knee, where he no longer feels pain.

This Friday, the idol did another training session on the field under the supervision of the club's physiotherapists, with increased load and fundamentals with the ball.

The number 7, therefore, is still in the initial stage of transition until the return to official matches, and has less than a week to become fit. It's difficult, but given the importance of the upcoming match, if he is in any condition to play, it is possible that Lucas will at least be on the Tricolor's substitutes bench.

The three athletes, along with the others who did not travel to Ecuador, trained this morning at the CT, while the rest and majority of the group have a day off after returning from Quito.

São Paulo now conducts the only training session before facing Santos this Saturday afternoon, when Hernán Crespo should define the lineup filled with reserves for the Brasileirão classic.

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