Rui Borges goes all in, brings injured star back to Sporting’s starting XI | OneFootball

João Simões returned to Sporting's training last Monday, November 24th, as the team was preparing to host Club Brugge. The young midfielder is expected to be directly included in Rui Borges' starting eleven for the fifth round of the Champions League.

In this first training session, the coach had the 18-year-old player who has been injured since the match against Santa Clara from the Azores and will thus return to the green and white club's options for the prestigious competition.

After being released from the under-21 national team and missing the game against Marinhense due to a left foot injury, Simões will once again pair with Morten Hjulmand in Sporting's midfield against an opponent that is somewhat 'special' to him.

It was also against Club Brugge, on December 10, 2024, that João Pereira - then the coach of the main team of the lions - gave João Simões his debut as a starter for the main team of the green and whites. Sporting ended up losing 2-1, but the player showed promising signs throughout the 90 minutes.

This season, wearing the Sporting jersey, João Simões - valued at 6 million euros - has played eight matches. The midfielder, trained at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, has accumulated 421 minutes: 224 in the Champions League and 197 in the Liga Portugal Betclic, still without any goals or assists.

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