- The 29-year-old defender missed the 2025 Final against Lanús with a ruptured left Achilles tendon and returned five months after surgery.
- In 2026 he has played nine CONMEBOL Sudamericana matches, seven of them as a starter, and played every minute of both Semi-finals against Montevideo City Torque.
"I'm really happy, truly. Those who were around me these past days know how anxious I was. God knows everything, God knows the right time". That is how Lyanco spoke on March 18, 2026, after Atlético Mineiro's 1-0 win over São Paulo in the Brasileirão, his first match in five months. Eight months later, the right time has a date: November 21, in Barranquilla, the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Final against Boca Juniors, the same stage he had to watch from the outside in 2025.
On October 8, 2025, in a Brasileirão match against Sport, the center-back suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon and underwent surgery two days later. The 'Galo' carried on to the Final in Asunción on November 22 and lost the title to Lanús on penalties after a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes. Lyanco was not there. Less than two months before the injury, on August 12, the club had extended his contract until December 2029.
He returned earlier than expected for an injury of that kind. On March 18, five months after surgery, he played against São Paulo. "For me, the time to come back had already passed a little. To play again at home, with an important win, against what is today the best team in the Brasileirão... I think it couldn't have been better", he added that night. In August, with regular minutes under his belt, he went further: "I love playing football, I love being here. My body is better and I feel even more ready and prepared than I was before the injury".
Born in Vitória on February 1, 1997, of Serbian descent, Lyanco came through the youth ranks at Botafogo and São Paulo, where he made his professional debut. He played for Serbia's Under-19s before choosing Brazil's youth teams, representing the Under-20s and Under-23s. In 2017 he moved to Torino, with a loan spell at Bologna, and in 2021 to Southampton, who loaned him to Al-Gharafa in Qatar. In July 2024 Atlético Mineiro brought him back to Brazil and made him a key piece of their defense. At 1.87 meters, he is also a reference point in the air.
In the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, Eduardo Domínguez's Atlético Mineiro have counted on him from Matchday 1: according to Opta, in the away trip to Academia Puerto Cabello his numbers underlined his importance in the team's build-up play, as he was one of only two players on that matchday to attempt at least 100 passes, with 101. He has started seven of the nine matches he has played, and the campaign also gave him a scare: in the first leg of the Round of 16 against Red Bull Bragantino he came off in the 29th minute of the first half with discomfort in his left leg and missed the second leg. He returned for the Quarter-finals against Santos.
That tie sums up the team's character. After the 0-2 at the Vila Belmiro, the second leg at the Arena MRV was a comeback with its share of scares: Bernard opened the scoring after 19 seconds, Reinier scored twice and, in between, a Lyanco own-goal header from a Benjamín Rollheiser free kick, in the 28th minute of the first half, put Santos back in front. The 'Galo' did not fold: Tomás Cuello leveled the tie in the 45+2' of the second half and Gabriel Delfim saved three penalties. In the Semi-finals against Montevideo City Torque, Lyanco played the full 90 minutes of both matches: the 3-0 in Belo Horizonte and the 0-2 at the Centenario.
For Barranquilla, Domínguez's back line rests on him and on Vitão, his partner in the last three outings, in a side that arrives without Alan Franco, suspended after his sending-off in Montevideo, and with Delfim in goal due to Everson's injury. Atlético Mineiro will play their third consecutive continental Final, after the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores and the 2025 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, and are chasing their first title in the competition.
Lyanco had anticipated it in January, still in the middle of his recovery: "We will have the chance to play the Sudamericana again. I believe better things are going to happen this year". On Saturday the 21st, if nothing changes, he will be where he could not be last year: on the pitch.
