Cruzeiro announced, this Monday morning (11), that right-back Wesley Gasolina, 23 years old, began the physical preparation process at Toca da Raposa 2. As a result, the player, who was seriously injured in the last February and since then I hadn’t trained.
Wesley Gasolina had been injured on February 13, in the classic against Atlético-MG, in the first phase of the Campeonato Mineiro — the match ended in a 1-1 draw, with goals from Bruno Rodrigues, for Raposa, and Hulk, for Rooster. On that occasion, the right-back, revealed by Flamengo, tore his anterior cruciate ligament and had the collateral ligament in his right knee stretched. He underwent surgery ten days later and had been recovering ever since.
With the start of physical conditioning training, Wesley Gasolina should take a few more weeks to be ready to play. Being released for the matches, the player will fight for position with wingers William and Helibelton Palacios. An asset for Gasolina in the fight for a place in the starting team is its proximity to coach Zé Ricardo, who has a history in Flamengo’s youth categories.
Right-back Wesley Gasolina began the physical preparation process at Toca da Raposa 2.
Up, Gasoline!
@ggaleixo pic.twitter.com/2GsghWvCw2
— Cruzeiro (@Cruzeiro) September 11, 2023
Gasolina arrived at Cruzeiro during the 2022 Series B, where he played nine matches under the command of Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano. He didn’t score goals or provide assists. In 2023, when he was establishing himself as a starter for the team — there were five games in the year, the last four as a starter —, the right-back was injured and did not take the field again.
After leaving Flamengo in 2019, following a dispute with the club, Wesley Gasolina went to play in Italian football, where he played for Hellas Verona and Juventus, where he was teammates with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite this, the young man only played one game with the Turin team’s shirt. During his period in Europe, he was still loaned to FC Sion, in Switzerland, for a season and a half, until he returned to Brazil to defend Cruzeiro.
Cruzeiro’s medical department is close to emptying
With the release of Wesley Gasolina, only three players remain injured at Cruzeiro, namely:
Of the trio, it is Matheus Pereira who is closest to returning to the pitch. The player is in the final phase of his recovery and the tendency is for him to face América-MG on September 30th.
Ramiro and Rafael Bilu, in turn, have a remote chance of playing in the 2023 season, due to the severity of the injuries suffered, both in the last month of May.
Cruzeiro will play again, still without Wesley Gasolina and Matheus Pereira, on Thursday (14), against Santos, at 7pm, at Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP). The match is a direct confrontation against relegation, as only five points separate Raposa, 12th placed with 25 points, from Peixe, 17th and first in the relegation zone, with 21. The match will be valid for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship.
In the first round, striker Wesley scored twice and gave the celestial club a 2-1 victory at Independência. Ângelo scored for the São Paulo team.
Cruzeiro’s next games
- 23rd round – Santos x Cruzeiro – 13/9 (Wednesday) – 9:30 pm – Vila Belmiro
- 24th round – Fluminense x Cruzeiro – 9/23 (Wednesday) – 9pm – Maracanã
- 25th round – Cruzeiro x América-MG – 9/30 (Saturday) – (To be confirmed)
- 26th round – Cruzeiro x Flamengo – (To be confirmed)
- 27th round – Cuiabá x Cruzeiro – (To be confirmed)
- 28th round – Atlético-MG x Cruzeiro – (To be confirmed)
Cruzeiro has a complicated sequence in the Brasileirão
23rd round – Santos x Cruzeiro – 13/9 (Wednesday) – 9:30 pm
24th round – Fluminense x Cruzeiro – 9/23 (Wednesday) – 9pm
25th round – Cruzeiro x América-MG – 9/30 (Saturday) – (To be confirmed)
26th round – Cruzeiro x Flamengo – (To be confirmed)…— Maic Costa (@omaiccosta) September 4, 2023