Porto striker Samu suffers season-ending ACL injury | OneFootball

FC Porto striker Samu Aghehowa suffered the injury most feared by professional footballers – a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament – in his right knee in Monday’s 1-1 draw against Sporting and will miss the rest of the season as he begins his recovery.

The Spanish centre-forward has been a huge success since joining the Dragons last season from Atletico Madrid. Samu scored 27 goals in 45 games in his debut season at the Estádio do Dragão, and followed that up with 20 goals in 32 games in this year’s campaign.

Ironically, Porto coach Francesco Farioli singled out the 21-year-old for lavish praise in the post-match press conference after the Clássico, no doubt unaware of the extent of the injury that necessitated his substitution at half time.

The Italian coach spoke at length about Samu’s first-class attitude in training, his willingness to learn new skills and said he believed the Spaniard would become “one of the top five strikers in the world.”

Samu himself has shown he is an emotional player on and off the pitch ever since joining Porto and took to social media to express his devastation at the news, writing the following message on Instagram.

“Yesterday was the unluckiest day of my career. I suffered a serious injury. I still can’t believe it. I’m devastated and speechless.

I’m going to be out of action for several months. It’s tough for me not being able to help the team and fight on the pitch. Now I’m another supporter backing the team to achieve our goals.

I believe in God’s plan, being strong and positive, which will make me come back stronger than ever.

Thank you for the messages of support and comfort.”

Photo: Samu Aghehowa’s Instagram account

Kiwior also KO’d

Samu was not the only Porto player who came out of Monday’s clash injured. Centre-back Jakub Kiwior picked up a thigh injury that is expected to keep him on the sidelines for two to three weeks.

After winning 18 and drawing one of their first 19 Primeira Liga matches of the season, Porto lost to Casa Pia and drew against Sporting in their last two outings, with their buffer at the summit of the table subsequently reduced to 4 and 7 points respectively in relation to title rivals Sporting and Benfica.