Neither the strong sun nor his age prevented Petkovic from demonstrating his physical vigor on Monday afternoon in Gávea. The player trained for about an hour and a half under the watchful eye of the club's team of trainers and physiologists. At the end, the experienced Flamengo midfielder was highly praised by everyone.

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Coach Alexandre Haicki, three-time Rio de Janeiro junior champion with Flamengo in 2005, 2006 and 2007, has been following the Serbian closely in his activities and explains a little about the work that has been done with the number 43.

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"It's very different to work with a player separately from the group. The focus is basically physical. Today he ran 5,000 meters, and for each lap of the field, he has a set time. And he, even in the heat, has always performed better than expected," revealed Haicki.

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The club's physiologist, Paulo Figueiredo, explained that, although the heat is considered inhumane, even by himself, it is in these conditions that the players often have to perform. Therefore, according to him, the work is being done correctly and could yield positive results for Petkovic.

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"The work is going very well, and he's likely to improve physically. He arrived after the other players in preseason, and now we're making adjustments. He's doing everything very well, without any ill will. He talks a lot, wants to know why we're doing each thing. He ends up helping us too. The work has been done under strong sunlight, under match conditions. He's even got a darker complexion," he explained.

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Petkovic is expected to train separately from the group until next Friday. Then, the coaching staff will decide whether to reintegrate him into the squad.