What a stage! Uruguayans from Flamengo are experiencing moments of injury and questions at the club

Flamengo has four Uruguayan players who make up the celestial team: De Arrascaeta, From La Cruz, Varela and Viña, fundamental figures for the red-black team. However, the 2024 season has been marked by difficulties involving the quartet. Understand the situation of each of them.

Arrascaeta

Idol and multiple champion for Flamengo, midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta faces a lackluster phase of the season for Rubro-Negro. Since the draw against Vasco, in the Brasileirão, the number 14 has not participated in the red-black team's goals and was marked by lackluster performances in the following clashes.

In fact, after being eliminated by Peñarol in the Libertadores, Arrascaeta admitted that he is not 100% recovered from his injury. The Uruguayan regretted the fact that he had participated in many minutes in the Classic of Millions and would need more time to recover.

- I'm getting better. I wasn't supposed to play so many minutes in the previous game, but unfortunately another injury happened to our squad. I was returning from injury, so there were few training sessions with the main team.

De La Cruz b>

Soon upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro, De La Cruz quickly adapted to Flamengo and became a starter absolute at the start of the season. However, physical problems caused him to fall in the second half - he suffered an injury to the hamstring of his right thigh last Sunday (20), during the start of the second half against Corinthians - and his performance in the team fell.

After the Copa América, De La Cruz has had problems maintaining a sequence of games without injuries. This season, the player completed 90 minutes in just nine matches, and only three of them were after his return from the Uruguayan national team, highlighting the current fragility of his physical condition.

As a solution To fill the midfielder's position, the most likely option is Carlos Alcaraz. The most expensive signing in the club's history, the Argentine arrived at Rubro-Negro at the end of August and has not yet managed to establish himself. So far, there have been eight games, one goal (from a penalty) and one assist.

Varela< /p>

Guillermo Varela has a list of controversies in his time at Flamengo. The right-back was involved in the confusion involving Peñarol fans at Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in Rio de Janeiro, on the eve of the Uruguayan team's semi-final against Botafogo. On social media, videos showing the defender's presence quickly circulated on the internet.

In July 2022, Varela arrived in Rio de Janeiro to reinforce the squad of the Rio team. The arrival of the athlete, who was previously at Dynamo Moscow, in Russia, was full of expectations. The red and black squad lacked pieces for the right-back and saw in the Uruguayan the hope of solving the sector's problem. However, the answer did not come immediately.

The Uruguayan took a while to establish himself in Flamengo's starting lineup. In the first year, Rodinei assumed ownership of the position and limited his opportunities on the field. The scenario extended into 2023, even with the departure of the former owner and a change of coaches. Thus, Varela was unable to establish himself as a starter in the teams of Dorival Júnior (2022), Vitor Pereira (2023) and Jorge Sampaoli (2023).

The few minutes on the field preceded the player's first major controversy at the Rio club. In addition to being caught in the middle of a conflict involving Peñarol fans, Varela was involved in a fight with midfielder Gerson during training at Ninho do Urubu. The conflict took place on the eve of the 2023 Copa do Brasil semifinal, against Grêmio, and the defender fractured his nose due to the aggression.

Viña

Injured since August, left-back Matías Viña is yet another became an absence this season. An injury was found to the player's cruciate ligament, when he had to be removed in the match against Palmeiras, in the 22nd round of the Brasileirão.

The full-back arrived at Flamengo in January 2024 as one of the main signings for the season. In eight months, Viña has 22 appearances, one goal and two assists. With another loss in the squad, the Gávea club hired Alex Sandro to replace the left flank alongside Ayrton Lucas.

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