The coach of Boca, Diego Martinezdid not even make his debut in the first friendly against Gymnastics and Shooting, which already has a problem. While the team did a pre-match routine, Marcos Rojo –who was among the 11- left the playing field in a mess and is out. Cristian Lema He will take his place at the back.
The central defender showed sudden discomfort in his left leg, between the calf and the foot, and after being surrounded by his teammates, he left the field assisted by members of the coaching staff. Minutes later, Rojo returned from the locker room, greeted the audience and sat on the substitutes’ bench with a bandage around his calf.
The experienced defender had been coming out of a long recovery after undergoing surgery to rupture the cruciate ligaments in his left knee and a subsequent tear that prevented his return. The first attempt in the Martínez era was with a strain or tear.
It is expected that some medical report will report the type of discomfort that the Boca captain felt. Before his departure, Cristian Lema added his first minutes in Boca after leaving Lanús and becoming the only reinforcement in Xeneize.
The defender had returned after eight months without football, but various muscle injuries left him out of competition again. Before the start of the preseason, Rojo had rejected an offer to play for Inter Miami alongside Lionel Messi, news that was widely celebrated by the coaching staff.
Let’s go for one more year together and may this 2024 be much better for all of us,” Rojo had written on his official Instagram account. The message added a photo during the celebration of a goal with the Boca shirt, which impressed him the end-of-year predictions, which were not fulfilled, were even more important.
The player followed the match from the substitute bench, occupying a place next to Javier García. Unlike the previous one, when the TV captured the gestures of pain on his face, when he appeared in the image during the game, he seemed in good spirits.