Bruno Lage confirms six Benfica absentees for Santa Clara clash | OneFootball

Alexandar Bah, Amar Dedic, Manu Silva, Nuno Félix, Dodi Lukebakio, and Bruma are not part of Bruno Lage's plans. These are the six absences for the Clube da Luz for the Benfica – Santa Clara match, which will be played next Friday, September 12, at 8:15 PM, at Estádio da Luz, marking the return to domestic competitions.

Regarding Alexander Bah and Manu Silva, Bruno Lage contradicted the recent news circulating in the newspapers over the past weeks, indicating an earlier return than expected: "Towards the end of the year, these are nine-month injuries, we have to be very patient with their recovery."

About Benfica's market, Bruno Lage expressed great satisfaction: "As I said before, we considered players at the end of their contracts, those who finished their loans, and the injured ones. It was the only market where the President and the Board took the coach's ideas into account. We talked a lot after the Club World Cup and I feel good with that responsibility.”

"Santa Clara is a well-organized team, we faced them three times. They know what to do with the ball, it will be a demanding game and the focus is to play at the highest level. We need to keep our minds on the Club's objectives, which is to win the championship. We trained together today and the most important thing is to start this cycle on the right foot," concluded Bruno Lage.

The Benfica – Santa Clara match is scheduled for September 12, at 8:15 PM, at Estádio da Luz, and corresponds to the fifth round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. Bruno Lage's team is in fourth place in the National Championship, with nine points in three matches. Porto is first (12 points in four matches), Famalicão second (10 points in four games), and Sporting third (nine points in four matches).

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