Striker Rafael Elias, aka Papagaio, aged 24, suffered an injury during training and was absent for the match between Santos and Cruzeiro, which will be played this Thursday (14), at 7pm, in Vila Belmiro, in Santos. (SP).
According to information from Itatiaia, the injury will leave Rafael Elias out for at least three weeks. If confirmed, the injury could take the striker out of the matches against Santos, Fluminense (20/9) and against América (1/10).
With this, Gilberto’s name gains strength if Zé Ricardo — who said he counts on the player and aims to regain his confidence — wants to keep the team with a professional center forward.
— Gilberto, if we go back a while, half or more of all Serie A teams would be looking for him to be a center forward. He is a player who knows how to score, has an eye for goal. It will be up to him to regain his confidence so that he can have opportunities and score. I will be on his side. We cannot discard any player. They are assets of the club — said Zé Ricardo, in his presentation press conference as Cruzeiro’s new coach.
Gilberto’s bad phase
Gilberto has not played for Cruzeiro since last August 19th, when his error caused Corinthians’ equalizing goal, at lights out, in a match played at Mineirão, in the 20th round of the Brazilian Championship.
From then on, the 34-year-old player, who had already been suffering from harsh criticism from the Celestial fans, saw his tone rise even further, even being left out of those involved in the next match, against Grêmio. Afterwards, he was on the bench in the draw against RB Bragantino, but was not used.
If Gilberto doesn’t play, there is the possibility that Zé Ricardo will launch a mobile attack, without a reference man. Pepa, who was replaced by Zé in Cruzeiro’s technical command, came to play with Wesley, Bruno Rodrigues and Arthur Gomes, giving up a center forward, prioritizing speed players.
Rafael Elias arrived at Cruzeiro in the mid-year transfer window and, with the blue attack’s bad form, it didn’t take long for him to become a starter for the celestial team. The player played five games with the Raposa shirt and scored one goal. The celestial club has not yet commented on the athlete’s injury, who has a contract until 2026.
CBF details Cruzeiro’s next games in the Brasileirão
The CBF released, this Tuesday (12), the details of rounds 25 to 29 of the Brazilian Championship. See information about Cruzeiro games:
- 23rd round – Santos x Cruzeiro – 14/9 (Thursday) – 7pm – Vila Belmiro
- 24th round – Fluminense x Cruzeiro – 9/23 (Wednesday) – 9pm – Maracanã
- 25th round – Cruzeiro x América-MG – 1/10 (Sunday) – 4pm – Mineirão
- 26th round – Cuiabá x Cruzeiro – 10/8 (Sunday) – 6:30 pm – Arena Pantanal
- 27th round – Cruzeiro x Flamengo – 10/19 (Thursday) – 7pm – Mineirão
- 28th round – Atlético-MG x Cruzeiro – 22/10 (Sunday) – 4pm – Arena MRV
- 29th round – Cruzeiro x Bahia – 10/25 (Wednesday) – 8pm – Mineirão
The CBF detailed rounds 25 to 29 of the Brasileirão. Let’s go to the games @Cruise:
25TH ROUND
Cruzeiro x América-MG
1/10 (Sunday)
4pm
Mineirão
TV Globo and Premiere
Score of the round: 0x4 CruzeiroGustavo Aleixo/Cruzeiro pic.twitter.com/yO7ehe6Po4
— Maic Costa (@omaiccosta) September 13, 2023
