Gonçalo Inácio back in the Sporting squad, but with a caveat | OneFootball

Although he was reinstated in Sporting’s training sessions last Wednesday, October 15th, Gonçalo Inácio is not expected to play against Paços de Ferreira, a match taking place this Saturday for the Portuguese Cup. Rui Borges intends to manage the player’s workload.

The defender started in the first match for the National Team during this international break, against Ireland, but ended up being substituted during the game. This change by Roberto Martínez was also due to a physical issue—a contusion caused by a blow to his left calf.

This situation not only took Gonçalo Inácio out of the second half of the match against Ireland, but also ruled him out of the National Team’s second game, against Hungary. Roberto Martínez decided to release the center-back from Sporting, since he has other options available and is aware of the physical strain the player has been under.

The decision to rest the player is even more justified considering that Sporting will enter a grueling cycle after the international break, with seven matches in the span of 20 days. Therefore, the priority for the Portuguese Cup match will be to have the squad recovered and ready for the tough challenges ahead—Champions League and National Championship—with matches across four different competitions.

The match, part of the third round of the Portuguese Cup, against the team led by Filipe Cândido, will be played at Estádio Capital do Móvel at 8:15 p.m.

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