UNDERSTAND! FLAMENGO DOES NOT WANT TO BE FORCED TO RENEW WITH RODRIGO CAIO AND TAKES ACTION ABOUT THE PLAYER

Doctor Luiz Antônio Vieira, responsible for Pedro's surgery, commented that the attacker's recovery has been very positive. The surgeon was responsible for reconstructing the anterior cruciate ligament in Pedro's knees — on the right in 2018 and on the left this year. Vieira believes that the player's return will be better than his first injury, which occurred six years ago.

In an interview with the 'GE' portal, the doctor, who also operated on Bruno Henrique, detailed the surgical procedure, highlighting Pedro's physical and psychological qualities and reassured Flamengo fans about the possibility of the striker being present at the Club World Cup, in June next year.

“He was lucky not to have a meniscus injury , so joint rehabilitation is faster. We're still in September, I mean, he'll be there for about eight months, because that's around the time he turns around, between the eighth and ninth month. So I believe he has a chance. He is very dedicated, super focused on rehabilitation, does everything you tell him to, has strong legs, good muscles... I think he has a chance. He will be around the time he would more or less return”, said the doctor.

Luiz Antônio Vieira commented on the way Pedro is coping mentally with the situation. After suffering the same injury in 2018 to one knee, the attacker now has the anterior cruciate ligament in his other knee torn. The doctor highlighted that Flamengo's Shirt 9 is very calm and sees this as a learning experience for his life.

“He has one good thing: he is quite religious. So he believes that it is part of his life learning, that he had to go through this. He accepted, in a way he resigned himself a little. He said: ‘Doctor, I’ve been through this, I’m going to have to go through it again, it was supposed to be like this, it’s part of my life, let’s face it’. He is super calm about it”, explained Vieira.

In addition, Vieira mentioned the time that Pedro will be able to spend with his twin daughters, who were born just over a month ago.

“He’s at a stage where he just had a baby, right? He has one-month-old twins, so I told him: “Everything in life has a good and a bad side. You will now be able to live with your one-month-old daughters because playing football two or three times a week would be impossible, right”? So let's put it this way, there will be this good part, in inverted commas, of his drama”, concluded the surgeon.

Léo Ortiz is one of the new additions to Dorival Júnior's pre-call for October's FIFA Date. As happened in September, the CBF will use the maximum period of ten days to announce the 23 players who will defend the Seleção against Chile and Peru. However, the preliminary list was already sent to the clubs last Friday. At Flamengo, in addition to Ortiz, there are Fabrício Bruno, Ayrton Lucas and Gerson.

Improvised as a midfielder, Léo Ortiz has been one of Flamengo's highlights in this second half of the year, earning the admiration of the fans. However, in the match against Peñarol, Ortiz was passed over by Tite and started on the bench.

Interestingly, it was Flamengo's current coach who gave Ortiz his first opportunities in the national team. In 2021, the defender was called up for the Copa América, in which Brazil finished as runner-up.

If Ortiz is a surprise, the other three red-and-black players are already household names. Fabrício Bruno and Gerson were in the September squad, and Ayrton Lucas was called up by Dorival Júnior in March.

FIFA regulations allow the 23 players to be defined up to ten days before the presentation, but the clubs that have pre-summoned athletes must be informed 15 days in advance. Therefore, the CBF already notified the clubs on Friday.

Dorival Júnior's official call-up will be announced on September 27th, at the CBF headquarters, in Rio de Janeiro. The players will perform on October 7th, in São Paulo, where they will train at CT Joaquim Grava, from Corinthians, until the 9th, when they will head to Santiago.

Brazil will face Chile away from home in the on October 10th and, on the 15th, they will face Peru at the Mané Garrincha Stadium, in Brasília. Currently, with ten points, the Seleção occupies fifth place in the Qualifiers.

At the end of the 2023 season, Flamengo did not reach a renewal agreement with Rodrigo Caio, thus ending the cycle of a successful player within the club. During his time at Mengo, the "Sheriff" lifted the 2019 and 2022 Libertadores cups, the 2019 and 2020 Brazilian Cups, the 2022 Copa do Brasil, and the 2020 Recopa Sul-Americana, in addition to two Brazilian Super Cups (2020 and 2021 ) and three Cariocas (2019, 2020 and 2021).

In June, Grêmio announced the signing of the 30-year-old defender, with Rodrigo Caio reuniting with Renato Gaúcho, who led Flamengo for a large part of the 2021 season. The defender signed a productivity contract with Grêmio until December 2024, but his little use raises doubts about a possible renewal.

So far, Rodrigo Caio has been listed in just seven Brasileirão games for Grêmio, without being a starter in any of them. His only opportunity on the field was against Palmeiras, in the 14th round, where he came on in the 28th minute of the second half, acting improvised in place of Cristaldo.

A little hope for an extension of the link with Grêmio is due to the fact that Renato Gaúcho rotates the defense, but only uses Geromel, Kannemann, Rodrigo Ely and the young Gustavo Martins. This has further limited Rodrigo Caio's chances of establishing himself in the Tricolor Gaúcho starting lineup.

Perhaps a new opportunity will arise for the defender in the Grêmio game this Sunday (14), against Operário, in the third phase of the Copa do Brasil. The match will take place at 11 am (Brasília time), at the Centenário Stadium, and could be a chance for Rodrigo Caio to show his value and seek more space in the Grêmio squad.