Benfica face Vitória de Guimarães as João Rego becomes latest absentee | OneFootball

Benfica host Vitória de Guimarães at Estádio da Luz on Saturday, 18 March, in Liga Portugal Betclic matchday 27, and João Rego is another absentee for José Mourinho.

According to Record, the midfielder will be sidelined for some time and indications are he will only be available after the international break, making it all but certain he will also miss next weekend.

Recently used mainly with the B team, Rego was not in Nélson Veríssimo’s selection for the trip to Paços de Ferreira, then was left out by Mourinho for the Arouca game, with the coach also managing two further absences.

His last first team appearance under Mourinho came against Real Madrid in the final matchday of the UEFA Champions League league phase at the end of January. Since then he has featured only for the reserves.

Rego, who wears 84, extended his Benfica contract in February until the end of 2029/30, with a release clause set at 100 million euros. The club did not issue an announcement, confirmation appeared in the SAD report for the first half of 2025/26.

He now joins a group of Benfica players protected by a similar clause, including Anatoliy Trubin, António Silva, Richard Ríos, Andreas Schjelderup, Vangelis Pavlidis and Gianluca Prestianni.

Source: Glorioso 1904