The concerns of Lille OSC materialized as defender Alexsandro, 26, sustained an injury immediately following a “demanding” international break and his subsequent return to club play.
The central defender completed the full ninety minutes of Brazil`s 1-0 away defeat against Bolivia at the Estadio Municipal de El Alto, a stadium situated at a challenging altitude of 4088 meters above sea level.
The specific conditions of the match, especially the high altitude, prompted Lille to deliberate on how to manage the defender upon his reintegration into the squad. Consequently, Alexsandro did not participate in training on Friday, ahead of LOSC`s fixture against Toulouse FC on Sunday.
Nevertheless, he was included in the starting lineup for the match against Le TéFéCé. However, he was unable to complete the first half of the 2-1 victory. He suffered an injury near the psoas muscle, as revealed by manager Bruno Genesio post-match. The Lille coach also provided a rationale for starting Alexsandro, despite previously expressing reservations about the player`s physical condition during Friday`s press conference.
Genesio admitted that he “feared” such an incident could occur. However, he felt compelled to field the centre-back because, “unfortunately, we lacked many other options to afford him a rest.”
Alexsandro was subsequently substituted by new acquisition Chancel Mbemba. The former`s participation in the highly anticipated derby against RC Lens scheduled for next weekend now appears to be in jeopardy.
