Morten Hjulmand forces Sporting to seek January solutions | OneFootball

With another fixture on the horizon, Rui Borges once again faces difficulties managing the squad due to the high number of unavailable players. For the home match against Casa Pia, scheduled for Friday at 8:15 p.m., there is yet another absence to note: Morten Hjulmand, who is serving a suspension after receiving his fifth yellow card in the league, during the draw against Gil Vicente (1-1).

The captain’s unavailability for the first match of the second half of the season was confirmed on the 2nd, which allowed the coaching staff to prepare alternatives for the clash with the “gansos.” In this context, Hidemasa Morita emerges as the main candidate to fill the midfield spot, a solution that should begin to be worked on starting from the next training session. The Japanese midfielder could return to the starting eleven about a month after his last start, against AVS SAD (6-0), forming a duo with João Simões. Although they have shared the pitch on other occasions, such as the recent match against Vitória de Guimarães, they have never started a game together.

Once one issue is resolved, another appears on the horizon. Hjulmand – who recently once again praised Victor Froholt – will also be unavailable for the following match, against PSG, scheduled for the 20th, also at Alvalade, this time due to a suspension in the Champions League. Given the strength of the opponent and the short interval of just four days between matches, Rui Borges will have to readjust the midfield. Giorgi Kochorashvili stands out as one of the options, while Daniel Bragança is at a disadvantage after a long period out and with less match fitness.

Until the clash with Arouca, scheduled for the 24th, Sporting will be without their usual midfield organizer. Even so, the numbers show that Hjulmand’s absence has not always had a negative impact: in 15 games in which the midfielder was unavailable — five of them due to suspension — the club recorded only one draw, against AVS SAD (2-2), and one defeat, against Dortmund (0-3), both last season.

This season, wearing the Sporting jersey, Morten Hjulmand – valued at 50 million euros – has played in 26 matches: 16 in Liga Portugal Betclic, six in the Champions League, two in the Portuguese Cup, one in the League Cup, and another in the Super Cup. In the 2,342 minutes he has been on the pitch, the Lions’ captain has scored two goals and provided three assists.

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