Alberto Costa adds to Farioli’s ‘headache’ for Alverca-Porto | OneFootball

FC Porto announced in a statement published on its official platforms early on Tuesday afternoon that Alberto Costa suffered “a bruise to his right thigh,” making him a doubt for the opening round of the Primeira Liga against Alverca.

The Portugal under-20 international only underwent “treatment and modified training” at the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Centre in Olival. His availability for the trip to Ribatejo is therefore at risk, with the match scheduled for 6:00 pm (mainland Portugal time) next Sunday.

It should be recalled that the full-back missed much of the Dragons’ pre-season due to a muscle injury in his right thigh. Even so, he started in last Saturday’s match against Torreense at the Cidade de Coimbra Stadium, which ended in a 1-0 Porto victory and secured the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.

If his absence against Sérgio Ferreira’s side is confirmed, Francesco Farioli may turn to the makeshift Pablo Rosario or Martim Fernandes to fill the right-back position. The young full-back also recently had physical issues, but these are now believed to have been fully resolved.

However, the Italian coach’s ‘headaches’ do not end there. The medical report for the blue and whites still includes Cláudio Ramos and Jan Bednarek, who underwent “treatment,” as well as Vasco Sousa, André Miranda and Samu Aghehowa, who remain in “modified training.”

Farioli still waiting for more reinforcements…

FC Porto have adopted a particularly cautious approach in the summer market and have spent considerably less than their eternal rivals. So far, the investment stands at around €7.5 million, used to sign Inbeom Hwang from Feyenoord, André Silva from Elche, Eirik Granaas from Fredrikstad, and João Afonso from Santa Clara.

Even so, André Villas-Boas’ board does not consider business closed. Francesco Farioli himself has reportedly expressed the desire to receive at least one more left-back and one striker ahead of the new 2026/27 season.

The need is explained, on the one hand, by the fact that Zaidu Sanusi and Francisco Moura do not have guaranteed continuity in the squad of the current national champions. On the other hand, André Silva is the only certainty in attack, since Deniz Gul may also have his ‘days numbered’ and Samu Aghehowa is only expected to recover in November.

…and departures at FC Porto

Besides Zaidu Sanusi, Francisco Moura and Deniz Gul, there are still several players whose futures remain undecided. Stephen Eustáquio is one such case: he returned to FC Porto after a loan spell at Los Angeles FC, but he is not part of Francesco Farioli’s plans.

In recent days, there has also been talk of interest from several clubs in Alan Varela, Victor Froholdt and even Rodrigo Mora. Any of them could leave the Estádio do Dragão before the close of the current summer transfer window if offers deemed impossible to refuse arrive.

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