FC Porto back in training, Bednarek sidelined with ligament strain | OneFootball

The FC Porto first team returned to training late Saturday morning at the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Center in Olival, almost a week after their visit to Famalicão, where they won 0-1 with a goal from Victor Froholdt, in a match corresponding to the 11th round of the Primeira Liga.

In the session, coach Francesco Farioli was without Jan Bednarek, who, according to the club's official statement, only underwent “treatment” after being diagnosed with a ligament strain in his left knee, which led to his release from the Polish national team training camp.

The center-back thus joins the blue and white medical report, alongside Borja Sainz and Nehuén Pérez (both also undergoing “treatment”) and Luuk de Jong (who continues with “conditioned training”), with the duration of his absence from the pitch yet to be determined.

International call-ups cause a ‘raid’ on the FC Porto squad

In addition to these absences, the break for international commitments brought more problems: the national teams ‘took’ 11 players from the squad led by Francesco Farioli, further weakening the team.

The following were called up: Diogo Costa (Portugal), Martim Fernandes, Rodrigo Mora (both used in the U21 national team), Jakub Kiwior (Poland), Samu Aghehowa (Spain), Victor Froholdt (Denmark), Deniz Gul (Turkey), Zaidu Sanusi (Nigeria), Stephen Eustáquio (Canada), Pablo Rosario (Dominican Republic), and Dominik Prpić (Croatia U21).

Antoni Nikolov was the only ‘reinforcement’

Given the high number of absences, Francesco Farioli promoted only one youngster to first-team training: goalkeeper Antoni Nikolov, 16 years old, who arrived in Portugal last summer to join the U19 squad.

The club’s next training session will take place on Sunday morning, behind closed doors, at the Olival complex, as preparations continue for the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup, in which FC Porto will face Sintrense.

The match against the team from Series D of the Campeonato de Portugal – who previously surprised by eliminating Vizela (II Liga) and Rio Ave (Primeira Liga) – is scheduled for 8:15 pm (Portugal mainland time) on Saturday, November 22, at Estádio do Dragão.

This game will mark the start of an intense period for FC Porto, who will then face Nice (November 27), Estoril (November 30), Vitória SC (December 4), Tondela (December 7), Malmo (December 11), Estrela da Amadora, Alverca, and AVS (dates to be confirmed by Liga Portugal).

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