Flamengo’s dominant 1-0 victory over Grêmio came at a cost, leaving the team with significant midfield issues for the upcoming Brasileirão match. Key defensive midfielders Jorginho and Evertton Araújo received their third yellow cards of the campaign and are suspended for next Sunday’s fixture against Athletico-PR at Arena da Baixada.
The duo delivered standout performances in Porto Alegre, orchestrating Flamengo’s triumph. Jorginho completed 121 passes with 97% accuracy—a record for this Brasileirão season—while Evertton Araújo hit 104 passes (95% accuracy), the third-best mark in the competition. Their absence leaves a major gap in the team’s engine room.
Adding to the woes, Erick Pulgar and Lucas Paquetá remain in the medical department and are not confirmed for the match. Both players are undergoing on-field physiotherapy as they recover from injuries. Pulgar suffered an acromioclavicular joint injury to his right shoulder on April 5 against Bragantino, while Paquetá is treating an edema in his left hamstring tendon sustained against Bahia on April 19. Their participation against Athletico-PR depends on their physical progress this week.
Another potential absentee is Nico de la Cruz. The Uruguayan is often rested for matches on artificial turf, such as the surface at Arena da Baixada. On April 26, he did not travel for the clash against Atlético-MG at Arena MRV for that same reason.
After the Grêmio win, coach Leonardo Jardim addressed the absences in a press conference. The Portuguese manager preferred to focus on the upcoming Copa do Brasil match against Vitória on Thursday, but was uncertain about Pulgar and Paquetá’s availability for the Athletico-PR game.
“We’ll see. I certainly want to prepare them more for the game against Coritiba, because right now we have Nico and Saúl, and if we have more solutions, it’s important for managing the midfield. For the next game, they (Evertton and Jorginho) are not suspended because it’s a different competition, but we need to prepare the team well. I’ve already played against Vitória once and felt that… Vitória is talking about refereeing, but I felt extra revolt and pressure. We have to prepare the team mentally because other things beyond football can happen,” Jardim said.
