Rui Borges’ starter handled with care in Estoril v Sporting clash | OneFootball

Hidemasa Morita returned to Sporting's starting eleven in the victory over Estoril on Saturday, September 27. The Japanese midfielder was once again Rui Borges’ initial choice, although he played with time restrictions. His playing time continues to be carefully managed, due to the need to progressively manage his physical condition.

According to information reported by the newspaper Record, the substitution of the ‘number 5’ from the Alvalade club was premeditated, as the Japanese international is being counted on for the matches against Napoli and Braga and they want the player to be in good physical shape. As such, the player took to the field with adhesive supports on his left knee.

In order to protect Hidemasa Morita and avoid any physical relapse, Rui Borges chose to substitute his player and brought on Giorgi Kochorashvili to pair with Morten Hjulmand in Sporting’s midfield, a position he has occupied since the Japanese player’s injury in the third round, against Nacional.

The coach Rui Borges, in his analysis after the match with Estoril, also revealed that the decision to take the Japanese player off at halftime was premeditated: “It was really about managing Hidemasa Morita’s return. He was destined to come off and only play that amount of time. We chose to start him and then take him off. That’s all it was.”

This season, wearing Sporting’s shirt, Hidemasa Morita – valued at 13 million euros – has played in seven matches. In this start to the season, the Japanese international midfielder has played a total of 369 minutes, during which he assisted his teammates once.

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