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FC Goa’s captain Lucio is all set to miss their next away fixture against North East United FC with a muscle strain sustained in the last match. Jofre was also pulled out of the game against Chennaiyin FC, when he made a rough tackle, inside the box by Ralte making him doubtful for their next match.
With almost all the franchises missing out on their marquee players due to injuries, Lucio was the latest addition to the list. There was no official statement regarding the time he would take to recover.
FC Goa coach Zico had confirmed both Lucio and Jofre’s injuries in the media conference, after their last match against Chennayin FC on Sunday. “We will give it another 48 hours in order to evaluate the state of the injuries sustained by the players. But it seems Jofre’s injury was not very serious. With regards to Lucio, it seems it was something related to the muscle,” he said.
Lucio’s injury will add to the woes of Zico who faced a lot of criticisms for his on and off the field behavior during the tournament after their last match against Chennaiyin FC. The Brazilian legend has to find a way to rejuvenate his team after they were drubbed 4-0 by the Chennai franchise team on Sunday.
With Lucio unavailble, it remains to be seen who Zico will bring in to replace the biggest asset of the team. Not just a central defender, but also the team needs to replace a 0leader.
Jofre was challenged inside the box by Chennaiyin FC defender Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte and had to be substituted immediately thereafter around the hour mark. Although it seems that the Spanish midfielder will be a part of the team in Guwahati, but it is to be seen whether he could start or not.
On the other hand, the North East based franchise team, who are yet to register a point so far, will ideally utilize this match to come back into the tournament.
North East coach Ceaser Farias will look to male a few changes to the team with national team players Seityasen Singh and Aiborlang Khonjee set to return for the North East team. Kick-off is on Thursday, at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati at 7 pm IST
