Ibrahima Ba nearly back, Rui Borges may unveil new Sporting duo | OneFootball

Ibrahima Ba is getting closer and closer to returning to Sporting’s options and could even take on an important role in the away trip to Braga, scheduled for October 9. The Senegalese centre-back is recovering from problems in his right knee and is a candidate to go straight into Rui Borges’ starting XI.

According to Record, the Lions believe Ba will be fully integrated in the coming days. The defender underwent surgery on his right knee in May and, although he had already returned to competition against Alverca, he later complained again, leading Sporting to adopt a stance of maximum caution.

The break for international fixtures ended up giving the centre-back valuable time in his recovery. Ba is now targeting the match against Braga, at a time when Rui Borges will not be able to count on Zeno Debast, who was sent off against Arouca.

Given that scenario, the Senegal international could even form an unprecedented partnership with Gonçalo Inácio at the heart of Sporting’s defense. Eduardo Quaresma appears as the other option available to the Sporting coach.

Moncef Zekri is also continuing to make progress in his recovery process. The left-back has only been doing specific training, but should be available in the short term. Even so, if Maxi Araújo is not fit to play in Braga, Rodrigo Dias is currently ahead of the Moroccan, who has yet to make his official debut for the green and whites.

Sporting’s squad will meanwhile return to work still heavily depleted due to the absence of 17 internationals. Among the players already used by Rui Borges, only Sergi Altimira, Eduardo Quaresma, Pedro Lima, Luís Guilherme and Rodrigo Dias will be available, also opening the door for several youngsters to show what they can do at the Academy.

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