Luka Sucic makes summer debut as Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side fall short in Toulouse friendly
Luka Sucic featured for the first time this summer in the friendly against Toulouse, entering near the hour mark as Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side sought a late turnaround that ultimately did not materialize.
Sucic’s late cameo in Tarbes
Luka Sucic was introduced around the 60th minute in Tarbes after only one week of training with the squad.
His appearance marked the midfielder’s first competitive minutes of the summer and was intended to inject fresh energy into an attack chasing an equalizer.
The coaching staff used Sucic’s brief spell to accelerate his conditioning while protecting him from excessive load.
He showed glimpses of mobility and sharp passing, but the short timeframe limited his influence on the final outcome.
Kubo kept sidelined as precaution
Takefusa Kubo was not used in the match, a deliberate decision taken to avoid any setback in his recovery following the World Cup.
Medical and coaching staff elected to prioritise a cautious approach rather than risk aggravating a knock at this stage of preseason.
That conservative stance reflects an emphasis on long-term availability over immediate returns from a player still regaining full match fitness.
Kubo’s absence left the manager with one fewer attacking option, shifting preparation toward other squad members for the coming fixtures.
Gonçalo Guedes’ late arrival and travel decisions
Gonçalo Guedes did not travel to Tarbes after only rejoining preparations the previous Thursday, a timing that made his inclusion impractical.
The decision to withhold him from the matchday squad was described by staff as logical given the limited time he had with the group.
Other players who had joined the build-up at the tail end of the week were similarly managed to reduce risk.
Those arrivals will instead follow a stepped return to full involvement across training sessions and forthcoming friendlies.
Rotation strategy mirrored earlier friendly against Aston Villa
Pellegrino Matarazzo started several players who had come off the bench in the recent friendly with Aston Villa, aiming to ensure nearly all squad members accumulated significant minutes across both matches.
The rotation plan was structured so that many players would finish the pair of friendlies having logged close to 90 minutes of match action.
That approach sought to balance competitive sharpness with workload management, giving fringe and returning players meaningful time on the pitch.
Among those selected for extended minutes were goalkeeper options and defensive choices intended to build cohesion ahead of the competitive season.
Squad absentees and the medical list
Several notable names were absent from the trip to Tarbes, with neither the goalkeeper Remiro nor Sergio Gómez among the travelling party.
In addition to Takefusa Kubo and Gonçalo Guedes, long-term and short-term injury cases such as Odriozola, Gorrotxategi, Marín and Goti remained unavailable.
The list of absentees underlines the club’s current dependency on careful load management and phased reintegration.
Balda did travel with the group but staff indicated that his return to action remains tentative and will be judged on training progress.
Preseason implications and fitness assessment
The Toulouse friendly provided a practical test of the coaching staff’s ability to manage minutes while progressively building match sharpness.
Players like Sucic gained valuable minutes that will help accelerate their readiness for competitive fixtures, while others were protected to preserve their condition.
The mixture of short-term comebacks and conservative omissions suggests the staff values structured progression over forcing players into early action.
Monitoring recovery markers, individual training responses and subsequent minutes will be central to squad planning in the next wave of friendlies.
The immediate focus will be on maintaining momentum in training, gradually increasing intensity for those returning and giving younger or fringe players opportunities to stake a claim.
Coaching assessments in the coming days will determine how quickly figures such as Kubo and Guedes are reintroduced to full match duty.
Overall, the Tarbes outing offered clear signals about the coaching team’s priorities: manage risks, accumulate minutes intelligently, and protect players coming back from recent exertions.
Sucic’s appearance provided a useful snapshot of his current condition, while the club’s cautious approach to other squad members aims to secure availability for the early season challenges ahead.
