River got three important names back in its squad for Sunday’s River Plate vs Vélez match at the Monumental, with Marcos Acuña, Gonzalo Montiel and Sebastián Driussi all included in Eduardo Coudet’s list of convocados after recovering from injury. The squad was defined on Saturday, one day before the 19:15 kickoff, and all three were concentrated with the rest of the group.
That return matters now because River is entering a week that could shape more than one competition. The match against Vélez is an interzonal fixture in the Torneo Clausura 2026, and just three days later River will face Santa Fe at the Monumental in the return leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16. Coudet has a decision to make with players who are fit again but still fresh from separate layoffs.
Driussi is the clearest case. He had not made his debut in the semester after suffering a tear in his right calf on July 15, 2026. Acuña had last played on July 29, 2026 against Gimnasia in La Plata, when a tear in his right hamstring ruled him out. Montiel also made it back after a strain in his left adductor suffered the previous Sunday, and all three received medical clearance during the week.
That does not mean all three will start against Vélez. Coudet can use them on Sunday or hold them back for Santa Fe, and that uncertainty is the real edge of the story. River’s probable lineup already points to a settled core, but the returning trio could still be treated as immediate options rather than automatic starters.
For River, the gain is simple: three senior players are back in the conversation at exactly the moment the schedule tightens. What Coudet does next will show whether he sees Vélez as the place to bring them in or the week’s first match to survive without asking too much of legs that have only just come back.
