Sources from the Brazilian team confirmed that “Paquetá and Raphinha are not guaranteed in the quarter-finals”. Both players are injured and follow a strict injury treatment protocol.
Last Monday (29), midfielder Lucas Paquetá left the match against Japan. The CBF confirmed a muscle injury to the back of his thigh. Raphinha played his last game against Haiti, on June 19th, still in the group stage.
More than caution, the CBF adopted silence as a protocol when treating its injured. The period of strong speculation about Neymar’s return to the field served as a parameter, so there will be no official announcements about the evolution of treatments. Players undergo daily physiotherapy sessions and medical examinations.
If they eliminate Norway in the round of 16, Brazil will play the quarterfinals on July 11th. The game may take place, players who were chosen as starters by coach Carlo Ancelotti.
End of the World Cup?
According to Dr. Ari Zekcer, knee orthopedist and sports doctor, the recovery time for a grade 1 injury, the mildest as it is a muscle strain, is estimated at up to ten days. 12 days ago. He did not play in the matches against Scotland and Japan.
More serious injuries could mean the end of the World Cup for an athlete at this point. According to the doctor, a grade two injury compromises 5 to 50% of the muscle and requires three to six weeks for recovery. A grade three injury is a total rupture of the muscle fiber and requires months of treatment.
Injury that haunts the national team
The doctor interviewed by the report comments that “Paquetá he had a muscle injury in the posterior region of his left thigh. It is an injury that occurs in the muscles due to an explosive movement. The player is standing still, he runs away, makes a quick, sudden movement, and this muscle contracts very quickly and often ends up exceeding its ability to stretch or contract, and ends up tearing a part or creating a contracture.”
Doctor Ari Zekcer explains that the same injury affected other national team players. “It’s the same injury suffered by several professional football players, it’s very common in football. The player Estêvão, who was our right winger, who was cut by a grade four injury to this muscle, a very important injury, there wouldn’t be time for him to return to the World Cup. Militão was our defender who also had the same injury before the World Cup. And Rafinha already had this injury two months ago and felt it again, not in this game in Japan, a game before. So it’s a muscle that is commonly affected because the player’s movement In football, it’s a movement of explosion, of running away, and that’s where you end up getting this muscle called the biceps femoris”, he explains.
What does the CBF say?
“, this Tuesday, through an imaging test that confirmed a muscle injury in the posterior region of the left thigh. The player will follow an intensive treatment protocol, accompanied by the Brazilian team’s medical team, aiming for his recovery and return to activities in the shortest possible time.”
Paquetá
Faced with difficult times, he used his social networks to share a message of optimism with his followers. In his post, the player expressed: “Faith… I’ve experienced this before.”
