Boca is all set for the first chapter of its series against Recoleta in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. Rodolfo Arruabarrena has defined the roster for the match this Tuesday at the Tomás Adolfo Ducó, and the main news is the returns of Carlos Palacios and Tomás Belmonte, who are back in contention after overcoming their respective injuries.
The return of both players is good news for the coach, especially in a midfield that has not had many alternatives. Palacios had been sidelined for a good part of the semester due to synovitis in his right knee, and just when he was close to returning against O'Higgins, he suffered a strain in his right pectineus that delayed his comeback again.
On the other hand, Belmonte had suffered a sprain in his right ankle prior to the round of 16 match of the Copa Argentina against Sarmiento (16/7). After completing his recovery, the former Lanús player is back among the squad and offers Arruabarrena an option to manage the workload of the usual starters during the series of matches.
The returns of Palacios and Belmonte led to the exclusions of Milton Giménez and Williams Alarcón from the roster. In both cases, the decision is based solely on footballing reasons and not on new physical issues. Giménez, who even had minutes in the draw against Vélez, was until now the main natural alternative to accompany Miguel Merentiel in attack, although Adam Bareiro's injury has reduced the coach's options.
