Bruno Lage has chosen Dedic’s replacement for Benfica v Santa Clara | OneFootball

Tomás Araújo is likely to be Bruno Lage's choice to replace the injured Amar Dedic in Benfica's starting 11 against Santa Clara. After starting and playing the full 90 minutes as a center-back against Alverca, the Portuguese international returns to the fullback position, a role he is quite familiar with.

The newspaper Record reports that the 23-year-old has been training as a right-back and will be the one to fill that position in Benfica's match against Santa Clara, this coming Friday, September 12, at 8:15 pm, for the fifth round of the National Championship. It is also known that Bruno Lage has complete confidence in Tomás Araújo's abilities in that position.

The opportunity arises due to Amar Dedic's expulsion in the match against Alverca - Benfica, which makes him unavailable for this round of the Liga Portugal. In addition, the right-back suffered an injury while playing for Bosnia, which could keep him off the pitch longer than expected.

Despite Bruno Lage preparing this old formula, used last season, since the final whistle against Alverca, it has gained more strength in recent hours, considering that Otamendi returned from the international break fresher than expected. Thus, the Argentine could be considered as a starter for the match against Santa Clara, leaving Tomás Araújo completely free for right-back duties.

The same source also states that Tomás Araújo's return to Benfica's right-back does not pose any problem for the player. Despite being more comfortable playing as a center-back, the footballer feels prepared to take on the responsibility in the absence of Dedic.

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