Nuno Santos’ new Sporting injury back in focus, talk of panic | OneFootball

Nuno Santos’ medical history sets off alarm bells whenever the winger reports complaints. His fall in the 26th minute of the match against Alverca, on his return to the starting line-up after the serious injury he suffered against Famalicão on October 26, 2024, caused concern after 15 months out of competition. Now, the length of his spell on the sidelines is already known.

Artur Pereira de Castro, a specialist in orthopaedics, traumatology and sports medicine, who led Sporting’s medical department between 2000 and 2011, considered the situation to be expected after such a long period of inactivity: "It is supposedly a muscle injury, which requires further medical tests to determine its extent. It is perfectly normal for something like this to happen to a player who was out for so long and went through the process he went through. It is natural that, faced with this, he panicked, because after being out for so long he now sees a few more weeks on the sidelines ahead of him, a period that will depend on the tests he is going to undergo," he said.

The doctor also highlighted the psychological aspect: "The mental condition is something that has to be managed. It is indeed a shock for the athlete, after everything he has been through, to suffer another injury, however minor it may be. He needs to be treated from a psychological and emotional point of view and helped as much as possible. This injury must be minimised, compared with everything that has happened to him, especially since it is in the opposite leg, although it is dramatic that this happened to him in the game in which he returned to the starting line-up. It is not easy. Now the injury has to be treated and so does his mind."

For Pereira de Castro, the support received by the Sporting player could be important in the recovery process, although he avoided giving a timeframe: "Let us hope the lay-off is not too long; everything depends on the extent of the injury."

Nuno Santos – valued at €5 million – joined Sporting in 2020 from Rio Ave for €4.15 million (according to Transfermarkt). Since then, the 30-year-old winger has made 202 appearances, scored 34 goals, provided 43 assists and won seven trophies (three league titles, one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, one Portuguese Cup and two League Cups).

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