Sporting have already found Ousmane Diomande’s replacement | OneFootball

Eduardo Quaresma ends up being the 'lucky one' with so many injuries and also the absence of Ousmane Diomande due to the CAN. The 'number 72' will now have an opportunity in Sporting's starting eleven, as a result of this more unstable period in Rui Borges' squad.

The coach of the green and whites already knows that he will not be able to count on the Ivorian international during the next month, and therefore, Quaresma will be the next bet for this season. The 23-year-old center-back is expected to take the spot in the eleven alongside Gonçalo Inácio, especially since Zeno Debast is also still injured.

“Edu has been playing great games, he did another one in Munich. He's right at the door”, Rui Borges admitted about the player before Sporting - AVS, of the 14th round of the League, in which the player ended up starting the match from the bench. So far, Quaresma has only started seven times for the lions in 2025/26, among which he has even been tested as a right-back.

All things considered, Sporting will have a weakened defense for more than a month. The final phase of the African competition will take place between December 21 and January 18, meaning Diomande is expected to miss a total of six games for the lions: Santa Clara (Portuguese Cup), V. Guimarães, Rio Ave, Gil Vicente, and Casa Pia (National Championship) and Vitória again (Allianz Cup).

This sports season, with the Sporting jersey, Eduardo Quaresma - valued at 17 million euros - has only played ten matches. At the start of the season, the player participated in a total of 631 minutes, scoring one goal and providing one assist in his personal account.

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