Football | OneFootball

Sporting is confident that it can count on the returns of Ousmane Diomande and Rui Silva for the Champions League debut, scheduled for this Thursday, September 18, against Kairat Almaty. After the recovery of Maxi Araújo, these are the two 'reinforcements' for the green and whites for the millionaire competition.

The information is being advanced by Record newspaper, on the eve of the training session that will mark the start of the lions' preparation for the first round of the Champions. Regarding the central defender - who suffered a muscle injury in his right thigh on August 8, against Casa Pia -, he is already training on the pitch. Although the Ivorian was still 'spared' against Famalicão, it is expected that he will get some minutes against the Kazakhs.

For his part, Sporting's goalkeeper - who suffered a bruise on his left hand in the training session before the last round -, will be reassessed this Tuesday, September 16, with the aim of being reintegrated into the next day's training session. In this case, the same source reveals that Rui Silva will only play if he feels completely comfortable - that is, if he still feels difficulties, he will only be an option for the match against Moreirense, scheduled for Monday.

In the opposite direction is Hidemasa Morita. The return of the Japanese international continues to be a mystery and, as far as everything indicates, he will continue to be out of Rui Borges' options for the Champions League. The midfielder has been joining some of Sporting's training sessions, but continues to have complaints and muscle discomfort.

The Sporting will be back on the pitch on Thursday, September 18, against Kairat Almaty. The match against the team led by Rafael Urazbakhtin, valid for the first round of the Champions League, will be played at José Alvalade Stadium and kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 pm.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.