Fotis Ioannidis racing against time, could bring good news to Sporting soon | OneFootball

Pedro Gonçalves might not be the only one recovered for the Lisbon derby, as Fotis Ioannidis is in a genuine race against time to be an option for that match against Benfica. Remember that the lions will travel to the Estádio da Luz on December 5th, for the 13th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic.

Last Friday, Rui Borges received great news ahead of the derby: Pedro Gonçalves has recovered from injury, and has already been integrated into Sporting's training session. After getting injured against Santa Clara, the Portuguese international will return against Estrela da Amadora, although he has a 45-minute restriction on the field.

Sporting wants to reintegrate Pedro Gonçalves calmly, and therefore, the game against Estrela da Amadora will serve only for the midfielder to 'warm up the engines'. The main goal is for him to be fully recovered for the Benfica - Sporting match, to be at his best level in the Lisbon derby.

But Pedro Gonçalves might not be the only 'reinforcement' for that big Sporting game. Fotis Ioannidis, who was injured in the same game as Pote, is in a genuine race against time to recover by December 5th. The Greek forward is following a meticulous plan for this purpose, which he has adhered to rigorously, even cutting down on holidays, and showing up every day at the Academy for treatment. The truth is that the initial recovery window is expected to shorten, and the newspaper Record reports that the player might even return to training during the next week.

Even with these good news expected at Alvalade, Rui Borges remains cautious. Salvador Blopa and Flávio Gonçalves, for example, have been training with the main team to fill the gaps in the green and white attack. The players are expected to eventually return to the B team, but Sporting's coach is ready to call them into action if necessary.

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