Bruno Rodrigues: Abel hopeful for striker’s Palmeiras return, check it out | OneFootball

Bruno Rodrigues has not played an official match for Palmeiras since January 2024, a year and eight months ago. The number 11 barely debuted for the club and had to deal with two consecutive injuries, the last one being more serious. He underwent surgery in May of last year and has been in the process of physical transition since the end of last year. Coach Abel Ferreira has taken a cautious approach regarding the return of the number 11.

“No expectations. I think it’s better this way. He’s a player I personally like because of his values, the person he is, and we’re going to help him. The best way is for him to be at Palmeiras, which has all the resources to recover a player from an injury as serious as his. Although there have been clubs that contacted us to have him for these last months of the year, we can’t risk him playing at a club that doesn’t have all the structure and conditions,” he said after the 3-0 victory over Sport.

Bruno Rodrigues is already training with the ball and has been frequently participating in training sessions with the rest of the squad. Abel, however, said that the 28-year-old forward still needs more minutes in training and to lose his fear of tackles.

“The idea is to help him, and when he meets all the conditions, he’ll be able to play. If not… The best thing is for him to understand that he needs to get minutes in training, lose his fear, gain strength. His teammates respect that, and don’t go in hard on him for that reason. The goal is his own, and that’s what needs to be in his mind, and anything that comes after is positive. But it’s… the beginning of next year,” he revealed.

Bruno Rodrigues’ Injuries

The forward joined Verdão as a reinforcement in 2024. He took part in the club’s entire preseason, but only played twice: in the first and second rounds of the Campeonato Paulista, against Novorizontino and Inter de Limeira. In the latter, at Allianz Parque, he suffered a right knee injury and underwent arthroscopy, which kept him out of matches for about four months.

While he was in the process of physical transition to return to the pitch, he suffered another injury, this time more serious. In May 2024, during a Palmeiras training match, Bruno Rodrigues ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee and had to undergo another surgical procedure, this time more delicate.

In addition to Bruno Rodrigues, Palmeiras has also been missing forward Paulinho, who underwent surgery on his right leg last month and is only expected to return next year. Another absence is midfielder Raphael Veiga, who is dealing with pubic pain.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.