Paulinho will miss pachuca vs toluca on Sunday, May 10, after a muscular overload ruled him out of Toluca’s Clausura 2026 quarterfinal second leg. Antonio Mohamed chose not to risk one of his main attackers before a match Toluca must attack from the opening whistle.
Paulinho and Toluca
The absence strips Toluca of a player who has been central to its recent run. Paulinho helped the club win the Apertura 2025 and Clausura 2025 titles, and he finished as the scoring leader in both tournaments.
He has also delivered numbers this season. In the current campaign, he played 13 matches, started 11, and scored six goals. Those are the minutes and goals Toluca will have to replace against a Pachuca side that already took the first leg 1-0 at the Nemesio Diez.
Estadio Hidalgo Requirement
Toluca now carries a simple task into the return leg at Estadio Hidalgo: win by at least two goals to stay in the competition. That leaves Mohamed with a tighter margin on the road and fewer options in a knockout tie that had already turned after the first match.
The injury decision also keeps an eye on Toluca’s schedule beyond this series. The club is set to face Tigres in the Concacaf Champions Cup final on May 30, so pulling Paulinho out of Sunday’s match protects a scorer who has been one of the squad’s key pieces in its push for another title run.
For Toluca, the line between urgency and caution is already set. It needs goals in Pachuca, but it will have to chase them without the attacker who has been one of its most reliable finishers.
