Porto Prepares for Liga Portugal Return Against Marítimo
Porto has begun preparing for its visit to Marítimo on Matchday 8 of Liga Portugal with a reduced squad due to injuries and players away on international duty.
Porto has already turned its attention to its return to Liga Portugal action. The team coached by Francesco Farioli continued preparations on Tuesday for its visit to Marítimo, although it did so with several absences due to injuries and international commitments.
The training session took place behind closed doors at the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Centre in Olival. João Costa, Nehuén Pérez, Martim Fernandes, Zaidu Sanusi, Seko Fofana, Vasco Sousa, Gabri Veiga and André Miranda continue to work on modified training programs because of various fitness issues.
Those absences are compounded by nine players currently away with their national teams. Among them are Diogo Costa, Jan Bednarek, Jakub Kiwior, Victor Froholdt, Pablo Rosario, Inbeom Hwang and Santiago Giménez, as well as youngsters João Afonso and Dominik Prpic.
The internationals are not expected to return to the reigning Portuguese champions until Thursday, leaving little time to prepare for the weekend's match with the full squad.
With so many players unavailable, Farioli had to complete the training session with members of the B team. Ten players were called up in total, including Gabriel Veron, who returned to the club after spending time away on several loan spells.
Tiago Ferreira, a 33-year-old center back who returned to Porto after his spell with Paços de Ferreira ended, also trained with the first team.
Other youngsters such as Gonçalo Ribeiro, Antoni Nikolov, António Ribeiro, Luís Gomes, Yoan Pereira, Tiago Silva, João Teixeira and Kauê Rodrigues took part in the session, along with João Abreu, a midfielder from the Under-19 team.
Marítimo Is the Next Target
Porto will visit Marítimo next Saturday at the Estádio dos Barreiros on Matchday 8 of Liga Portugal.
For Farioli, the coming days will be crucial in determining which players he can recover before the match. Injuries and the late return of the internationals are affecting preparations, but the Portuguese champions are already focused on resuming domestic competition.
Key Takeaways
- Porto is already preparing for its Matchday 8 visit to Marítimo.
- Francesco Farioli is working with a reduced squad due to injuries and international call-ups.
- Nine players are currently away with their respective national teams.
- Gabriel Veron and Tiago Ferreira trained with the first team.
- The international players are expected to return on Thursday.
