Boca loses Alan Velasco to a muscle tear, out for three key matches

Boca is fighting on multiple fronts right now, and the physical toll is starting to show. In the same week Tomás Belmonte went down, it was Alan Velasco's turn to pick up an injury. He suffered a tear in his left adductor and will miss the next three matches for the Xeneize.

The injury didn't come entirely out of nowhere. Rodolfo Arruabarrena had already hinted at it in his press conference after the match against Unión, when he mentioned a nagging issue that had him worried. What was missing was the medical confirmation, which came through Monday morning via Diego Monroig on SportsCenter, once the test results were in.

How long could he be out

Tears like this one typically require about 21 days of recovery, so do the math: the former Dallas man won't make it back for Instituto (Friday, October 9), nor for the first leg of the Sudamericana semifinals against Vasco da Gama (October 13), and based on the timeline, he probably won't be ready for the Talleres match either.

In the best case scenario, Velasco could return for the second leg in Brazil. If the timing doesn't work out, his comeback would be pushed back to the match against Independiente, further down the calendar.

Who could step into his spot

The obvious replacement is Carlos Palacios, the Chilean who has already been picking up minutes with the team. But Arruabarrena also has the option of pulling from the Reserve squad, where two names are starting to generate buzz: Lautaro Mendieta and Franco Pérez.

Mendieta can play as a central or box-to-box midfielder and isn't a new face for the Vasco: he was already called up to the first team for the match against Central Córdoba. Pérez, meanwhile, plays as a central midfielder or attacking midfielder and is coming off a standout performance in the Reserve Superclásico against River, where he scored the goal.

With Belmonte and now Velasco sidelined by injury, Arruabarrena will have to shuffle his pieces through a demanding stretch, with the Sudamericana and the domestic league running side by side. The door is clearly open for one of the young players to earn a spot.