João Simões makes shock call in Vitória de Guimarães v Sporting clash | OneFootball

Hidemasa Morita is expected to take João Simões’ place in Sporting’s starting eleven for the away match against Vitória de Guimarães. Rui Borges has made this decision not due to a lack of performance, but rather to manage the physical load of the 18-year-old midfielder.

The ‘number 52’ stood out in last Thursday’s match against Santa Clara in the Portuguese Cup – in which he scored a stunning goal, although he was not entirely satisfied with his performance – but he is expected to start the next game on the bench, much to the surprise of the fans, according to the newspaper A Bola. The packed schedule forces Sporting’s coach to make such decisions.

Morita was not available for Sporting’s last match, as he ended up staying in mainland Portugal due to a flu syndrome. Now, the Japanese international is fit and should partner with Morten Hjulmand against the team from Guimarães.

This season, wearing the Sporting shirt, Hidemasa Morita – valued at 11 million euros – has played 20 matches. At the start of this season, the Japanese international midfielder.

Sporting will be back on the pitch next Tuesday, December 23rd, against Vitória de Guimarães, in a match for the 15th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The game against the team led by Luís Pinto will take place at 8:45 pm at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques.

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