Porto arrive depleted: major absences in central defense

FC Porto travel to face Real Betis on October 14 for the Champions League, dealing with a major shortfall in central defense. As Mundo Deportivo reports, coach Francesco Farioli has important absences in the heart of the back line and for that specific spot he would only have Jakub Kiwior available, the former Arsenal player.

Defence in trouble

The same report says Nehuén Pérez had recently returned from an injury and delivered a strong display in the first Champions League match against Manchester City (Porto lost 0-2). However, he picked up another setback in a recent training session and will be out for at least a month. It also adds that Seko Fofana is sidelined with a tear in the left thigh adductor muscle, with an estimated spell of two months.

Options running out

On top of that, Mundo Deportivo notes that Croatian Prpic is not registered for the Champions League, while Jan Bednarek must serve a second match of suspension carried over from last season.

With those constraints, Porto’s likely workaround points to Pablo Rosario, a regular in midfield roles, being considered to fill the center-back position. Farioli, meanwhile, had granted the squad a week off during the international break. The next challenge is whether Porto can keep up their momentum in Europe despite a defence that is currently stretched.