Farioli readies squad for cup amid absences, gives ‘reward’ | OneFootball

FC Porto continues its preparations for the third round of the Portuguese Cup with another training session held this Tuesday morning, while still suffering losses among its most frequently used players.

Diogo Costa (Portugal), Samu (Spain), Jan Bednarek and Jakub Kiwior (Poland), Victor Froholdt (Denmark), Deniz Gül (Turkey), Zaidu (Nigeria), Eustáquio (Canada), Pablo Rosario (Dominican Republic), Martim Fernandes and Rodrigo Mora (Portugal U21), Dominik Prpić (Croatia U21), and Tomás Pérez (Argentina U20) remain absent due to commitments with their respective national teams.

Luís Gomes, Tiago Silva, João Teixeira, Kauê Rodrigues, and Leonardo Vonić, members of the Dragons’ B team, once again joined the training sessions led by Francesco Farioli.

Farioli still cannot count on Nehuén Pérez and Luuk De Jong, who are listed in the club’s medical report, although both are already undergoing treatment and working out in the gym.

Luuk De Jong was injured during the last break, in September, in a training match, and since then has been unavailable for FC Porto, but his return is expected later in October.

On the other hand, the Argentine defender faces a prolonged recovery after a serious injury that required surgical intervention. On September 14, he successfully underwent surgery that confirmed a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon, which occurred in the match against Nacional after only five minutes on the field. The 25-year-old defender is not expected to compete again this season, only becoming available next season.

It is also worth mentioning that Francesco Farioli granted a day off to the blue and white squad, which will return to training next Thursday, October 16, already with the internationals rejoining the group.

It should be remembered that the third round match of the Portuguese Cup is scheduled for Saturday, October 18, at 6:00 p.m., when FC Porto will visit Celoricense at the Municipal Stadium of Barcelos, a venue that will serve as a temporary home for the Celorico de Basto team.

The morning ended with a tribute to Jorge Costa at Olival

FC Porto paid another tribute to Jorge Costa, which will be forever inscribed in the club’s memory: the Olival training center will now bear the name of the former captain of the blue and whites.

In a highly emotional moment, André Villas-Boas announced the change at the start of the afternoon, in a ceremony attended by the family of the former member of Francesco Farioli’s technical staff. The main technical team and the squad attended the tribute, which was particularly moving for the president of the blue and whites.

The Dragons’ president was moved during his speech as he remembered the ‘Bicho’, stating: “He was a great man and a great companion. I want to leave a hug here, because Jorge died in August, but he left us an impressive legacy. Of charisma, honor, and victories, a force of nature. An exceptional man. There is something very curious about David that reminds me of his father, which is his unmistakable walk and curly hair. He was always by my side. Sometimes I have mixed feelings about having brought him back here, and having lost him here, the way it happened in my arms.”

Jorge Costa passed away on August 5, following a cardiorespiratory arrest at the training center. The historic FC Porto center-back, who represented the club for 13 seasons, had returned to the club at the initiative of André Villas-Boas in April 2024, and since then the club has multiplied tributes to the eternal ‘Bicho’, culminating in the naming of the Training Center after him.

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