Rui Borges gets long-awaited boost at Sporting, and it's not Ibrahima Ba | OneFootball

Sporting returned to training this Tuesday after three days off, and there was an important update for Rui Borges: Moncef Zekri has already trained with the rest of the squad. On the other hand, there was no mention whatsoever of Ibrahima Ba, at a time when there had been expectations that the centre-back was close to returning to the group.

, was already under Rui Borges’ orders together with the remaining available players.

The absence of any mention of Ibrahima Ba ends up creating some expectation around the defender’s situation. Sporting believed the Senegalese player could be fully reintegrated in the coming days and had even been targeting the match against Braga, scheduled for October 9.

Rui Borges also worked with a very reduced group due to the absence of 17 internationals. Bidu, Mauro Couto, Paulo Cardoso, Samuel Justo, Ivanildo Mendes, Lucas Taibo, Rodrigo Dias, Miguel Alves and Miguel Almeida were once again called up to complete the session at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy.

Zekri’s integration represents, at the very least, an additional option for the left flank ahead of the trip to Pedreira, since Maxi Araújo may not be available. As for Ibrahima Ba, it will be necessary to wait for the next sessions to understand whether the centre-back can finally rejoin the group and remain in contention for a place against Braga.

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