Ronald Araujo leaves Uruguay vs. Brazil Copa America quarterfinal with injury

Ronald Araújo suffered an injury in the first half of Saturday’s 2024 Copa América semifinal between Uruguay and Brazil.

The Barcelona center back went down attempting to block a 30th minute cross, and immediately began holding the back of his right leg.

Araújo stayed down as trainers came to check on him, and Uruguay wasted little time in signaling for a substitution.

While the 25-year-old did manage to very slowly walk off under his own power, his emotions pointed to a worrisome injury. Uruguay sent veteran José María Giménez on in the 33rd minute, with the Atlético Madrid defender taking over at center back.

Araújo’s gestures indicated that he had injured his hamstring, which — barring a very minor issue, which this did not appear to be — would likely sideline him for the rest of this Copa América.

Despite later losing Nahitan Nández to a red card in the second half, Uruguay still managed to advance, eliminating Brazil 4-2 on penalties after a scoreless 90 minutes.

Two games now await Marcelo Bielsa’s side, whether or not Araújo plays any further part in the competition: a semifinal against Colombia on July 10, followed by either the Copa América final four days later, or a third-place game on July 13.

Traditionally, a hamstring strain tends to require four weeks to make a full recovery. However, a more severe strain can be a months-long issue, which would be a nightmare scenario for Uruguay and Barcelona.

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