João Simões makes shock call in Vitória de Guimarães v Sporting clash | OneFootball

Hidemasa Morita is expected to replace João Simões in Sporting's starting eleven for the trip to Vitória de Guimarães' ground. Rui Borges made this decision not due to performance issues, but for the physical management of the 18-year-old midfielder.

The 'number 52' stood out in last Thursday's match against Santa Clara for the Portuguese Cup - in which he scored a stunning goal, although he wasn't entirely satisfied -, but is expected to start the next game on the bench, surprising the fans, according to the newspaper A Bola. The busy schedule forces Sporting's coach to make these decisions.

Morita was not an option for the last match of the lions, as he remained in mainland Portugal due to flu syndrome. Now, the Japanese international is fit and is expected to pair with Morten Hjulmand against the team from Guimarães.

This season, wearing Sporting's jersey, Hidemasa Morita - valued at 11 million euros - has played 20 matches. At the start of this season, the Japanese international midfielder has played a total of 973 minutes, during which he assisted his teammates twice.

Sporting will return to the field next Tuesday, December 23, against Vitória de Guimarães, in a match for the 15th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The match against the team led by Luís Pinto will be played at 8:45 PM at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques.

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