Argentine Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez, a player for Serie B club Padova, will not be available to play this Sunday against Juve Stabia – despite having completed his two-year doping ban – due to a muscle injury.

“We feel sorry for Papu from a personal point of view because he really wanted to be there, but we must be cautious, we cannot take risks that make no sense,” revealed Matteo Andreoletti, the team's coach, in a press conference this Saturday.

“When he is 100% in terms of recovery, he will play. He has a muscle problem that occurred in recent days, I do not want to give a specific date for his return that we may not be able to meet. The objective is for him to return to 100% without forcing himself, it is not serious, but we do not want to rush or give an unnecessary deadline,” he added.

The The expectation for the return of 'Papu' was immense, with a mass bath prepared for his return after two years suspended for having tested positive in an anti-doping control when he was part of Sevilla, in a test carried out before the World Cup in Qatar.

The footballer, 37 years old, always maintained his innocence and attributed the positive to a syrup his young son took without knowing that it contained terbutaline.

The 'Papu', world champion with Argentina, has not played since October 8, 2023, in a Serie A match with the Monza shirt and against Salernitana. Since then, he trained alone until signing for Padova this summer, a team with which he will make his 'redebut' sooner or later.

This Sunday, he won't even be on the bench against Juve Stabia: "'Papu' hasn't come to be a mascot. He's a footballer and until he can play, he won't be called up," Andreoletti concluded.