Pote... made of glass? Sporting on alert over worrying injury record | OneFootball

Pedro Gonçalves has set off alarm bells at Sporting once again, after a relapse of his right thigh injury that once more jeopardizes Rui Borges’ plans. The Portuguese international had only recently returned to action, but the situation has worsened again, and even the most optimistic outlooks suggest he might not play again until 2026.

Pote was sidelined for most of last November and, just when his return seemed to finally ease the headaches for the Sporting coach, everything went the other way. Three weeks after being substituted in the win in the Azores against Santa Clara (2-1), the ‘number 8’ wore the green and white again on November 30, contributing in the last half hour of the rout over Estrela da Amadora (4-0).

Next came the derby at Luz, just over a week ago, in which he was a central figure by scoring Sporting’s early goal in the draw against Benfica (1-1), before being replaced after an hour of play. Since then, he has been left out of the squad for the matches against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and AFS in the League.

The truth is that, since moving from Famalicão to Sporting, Pote has had an irregular injury record. This current layoff is already his 11th since arriving at Alvalade, which averages out to nearly two interruptions per season. This season, still far from halfway through, it is already his second physical setback.

This season, wearing the Sporting shirt, Pedro Gonçalves—valued at 30 million euros—has already played 19 matches: 13 in Liga Portugal, four in the Champions League, one in the Portuguese Cup, and another in the Super Cup. Over the 1,484 minutes he has played, the ‘number 8’ for the Lions has already scored 10 goals and provided six assists.

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