It turns out Cavalry FC fans will get to see Richard Luca play after all.

The Cavs announced on Friday that the young Brazilian has re-signed with the club for multiple years, including 2021.

Luca, a 22-year-old native of Goiás, Brazil, first signed with Cavalry last winter, having previously spent time on the books of Brazilian heavyweights Santos FC and Mexican giants Tigres UANL. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get to Canada in time to participate in the 2020 CPL season in Prince Edward Island due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, but the club has now assured that he will finally make his CPL debut in 2021.

“Richard stayed true to his desire to play for our club and we stayed true in our belief in him to be a difference maker for us and in this league,” Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a media release.

“The COVID-19 restrictions impacted how we wanted to play this year, but also impacted a special young man in his career. We are excited to have been able to move forward with our agreement to bring Richard Luca to our team for 2021. He is a player that will have our fans out of their seats.”

RELATED READING: CPL off-season roster tracker – Who’s in and who’s out for 2021?

Luca is described as a skillful, diminutive winger who can play on either flank as well as in midfield (perhaps in a similar mould to fellow Cav José Escalante). He has spent time on loan in the last few years at clubs like Correcaminos in the Mexican second tier, and Torpedo Kutaisi in the Georgian top flight (where he scored five goals in 14 games in 2019). Luca has also represented Brazil at various youth international levels, including U-15 and U-17.

Cavalry has indicated that Luca is currently training with Saltillo SFC in Mexico in order to stay sharp for 2021. Pending the approval of visas and work permits, Luca will travel to join Cavalry in March 2021 ahead of the next CPL season.

With this announcement, Cavalry officially has 10 players under contract for 2021, including eight players who participated in The Island Games for them as well as former York9 midfielder Joseph Di Chiara. Luca is the second international player confirmed for next season, joining José Escalante.