Almost 5 months on, Sporting player could get minutes against Celtic | OneFootball

Fotis Ioannidis is getting ever closer to returning to competition and could play his first minutes of pre-season as early as this Tuesday against Celtic. The Greek forward is among Rui Borges’ options for the friendly scheduled for 5:30 pm at the Estádio Algarve.

The Greece international has not played since 21 February, when he featured in Sporting’s 3-0 win over Moreirense. After that match, the striker suffered a right knee injury that kept him out of action for several months.

Although he began training at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy without any medical restrictions, Ioannidis still felt the effects of his long spell on the sidelines. The strain caused by the intensity of training led to him being rested for the friendly against Torreense, played last week.

The forward is set to take an important step toward finally putting the long period of inactivity behind him. Rui Borges wants to gradually help the Greek regain his competitive rhythm, and he could once again take on an important role in Sporting’s attack over the course of the season.

Meanwhile, Sporting’s injury list still includes a few absences, but there are positive signs. Nuno Santos showed improvement in training, reducing the list of players under the care of the medical department, where Iván Fresneda, João Simões and Bruno Ramos remain.

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