The star in question suffered a brutal injury recently.
It has been a season that has tested Lucas Moura in ways that would break most footballers. On Tuesday morning, the 33-year-old left Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo after successful surgery to repair a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon in his right leg, a procedure carried out by the medical team led by Dr. Moisés Cohen on Monday. He will now rest at home before beginning physiotherapy at the club’s Morumbi training facility.
The injury happened on Sunday afternoon during the 2-2 draw with Bahia in the Brasileirão, in Bragança Paulista. Lucas was caught in a challenge with Erick Pulga and went down immediately. With São Paulo having already used all five substitutions, the side were forced to finish the game with ten men.
After the final whistle, the No. 7 was taken straight to Albert Einstein for imaging, and the diagnosis confirmed the worst: a complete Achilles rupture, the most severe possible outcome. What made it even more cruel was the timing. That game was only his first appearance back after missing ten matches with fractures to two ribs sustained on March 18 against Atlético-MG. He had just returned and lasted barely 80 minutes before his season was over again.
Dr. Cohen spoke after the surgery and was measured in his assessment of the timeline. He explained that Lucas would need four to six weeks of immobilisation before physiotherapy could begin, with a return to the pitch no earlier than four to six months from now. At best, that points to late 2026. At worst, it bleeds into 2027. Cohen did add, however, that the Tottenham 2019 UCL hero’s dedication as an athlete means he could recover ahead of schedule, though the biological process of Achilles repair cannot be rushed.
Amid surgery, contract situation in the air for Lucas Moura now?
Beyond the injury itself, there is a contractual dimension that makes this even more complicated for São Paulo. Moura’s deal expires in December 2026, and talks over an extension had been quietly put on hold while the club waited to assess his fitness. With the new injury and a recovery window that potentially runs into next year, those conversations become significantly harder to have.
He has made 236 appearances across two stints for the club, scoring 58 goals and providing 40 assists since returning from Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain in 2023. On social media following his discharge, he was defiant: days of pain and silence, he wrote, but a certainty that remains.