Breaking news! Rui Borges leaves player out for Sporting v Porto | OneFootball

Zeno Debast was left out of Sporting’s squad for the Clássico against Porto by technical decision of Rui Borges. Although he took part in the morning training session at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, the Belgian centre-back did not travel with the team for the match.

He left Alcochete and returned home, as he was not included in the final squad list for the Portuguese Cup clash, according to the newspaper Record.

The decision was based on strategic criteria. Given the Belgian international’s recent absence, the Sporting coach chose not to risk putting him on the bench for a match that is expected to be demanding and possibly decided by small details.

In the pre-match press conference, Rui Borges had confirmed that the ‘number 6’ was fit to face the Dragons, leaving open the possibility of his return to the squad. However, the final decision ended up excluding the defender from the available options.

This season, Zeno Debast – valued at 30 million euros – has made 15 official appearances for Sporting. The Belgian international has, so far, played 872 minutes, but is yet to record a goal or an assist.

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