The Uruguayan midfielder has been suffering from physical problems and has been withdrawn after playing three games in a row. worried about numbers
Midfielder Nicolas Delacruz, who is in his second season with Flamengo, will not play more games in 2025 than he did in 2024 when he joined Gavea. After all, after 29 games, the highest he can reach is 38, which is lower than his first season’s 41.
Therefore, the cost-effectiveness of keeping the Uruguayan player in the team until 2026 is starting to become a question. The player will miss this Saturday’s game against Sport (11/15) due to knee pain after scoring in three consecutive games, but he has been plagued by physical problems that have kept him off the field for most of this year.
Unsurprisingly, he played in just 17 of Flamengo’s 32 games in Brasileirão, just over half of them. However, only 12 of them were starters. In the Libertadores, the Red-Black played less than 50% of the matches, making only 5 of the 12 matches played so far. He was a starter in all of them. At the Club World Cup held in the United States in June and July, Delacruz played just nine minutes. That was the game that saw Flamengo farewell to Bayern Munich (ALE) in the round of 16.
Therefore, this player spends less time on the field than his teammates, playing just 1,825 minutes (29.8%) of Florida’s 6,120 available minutes during the season. He missed four seasons due to injury or illness (two seasons in May, July and October). In fact, this does not count games missed by athletes due to artificial turf or backup turf.
Physical problems and controversy at Flamengo
This is because the player is living with pain in his right knee. In fact, in May, Flamengo’s former medical director José Luis Runco commented on the Uruguayan’s physical condition in a private WhatsApp group. The leaked message stated that Nico had a “chronic and irreparable injury” to his knee. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Runko was removed from his position.
Meanwhile, Dela Cruz responded to the controversy with a message on Instagram: “Never let anyone tell you it can’t be done.” Since that occasion, he has only been on the field nine times. Coach Mengao is trying to get No. 18 back, not just by the end of the season, but by 2026.
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