Benfica coach Roger Schmidt confirmed this Thursday that striker Tengstedt will be absent “in the next few games” due to injury, but recalled that absences can be an opportunity for other footballers to demonstrate their value.
“The Casper [Tengstedt] was injured yesterday [quarta-feira] and it comes out tomorrow [sexta-feira] and probably also in the next games, in January. We have to find solutions, but we have a squad with a lot of quality, different options, that’s why we will present a strong team” against Famalicão, said the coach, at a press conference, in Seixal.
In anticipation of the reception of the Minho team, corresponding to the 15th round of the Portuguese First Football League, Schmidt also admitted that he has “some problems to solve” due to the high number of absences due to injury (Alexander Bah, Juan Bernat, David Neres and Tegstedt) or punishment (Otamendi), but he devalued the issue, stressing that it is “completely focused on what is available.”
“When players are missing, it is always an opportunity for others to appear. Sometimes these moments are necessary and it could be an advantage in the coming weeks if some players manage to perform well enough to be more than just an option on the bench.” , he remembered.
The coach also hopes to have some members in January, including David Neres, who “has returned to individual training” at Seixal and “completes the last phase of his recovery on the pitch.”
Furthermore, he believes that he will not lose in the January transfer market some players who have been important to the team, such as João Neves and António Silva, with whom he speaks “every day.”
“We are in the middle of the season and we have big goals at Benfica. We certainly won’t let any of these players leave, because we need them. And the second point is that nobody wants to leave, so there is no problem with that.” . Schmidt revealed.
Benfica hosts Famalicão on Friday, in a match of the 15th round of the I Portuguese Football League, scheduled for 6:45 p.m., at the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, and refereed by André Narciso (AF Setúbal).
The two clubs met approximately a month ago, on the fourth day of the Portuguese Cup, in a match in which the Reds won 2-0, with goals from Riccieli (72 minutes, own goal) and Rafa Silva (77 ). ).
“We played against Famalicão a few weeks ago for the Cup, so we know that they are a very organized, compact team, with a lot of quality in transitions and individual quality in attack. We needed to be patient to decide the game and tomorrow [sexta-feira] It’s going to be the same,” the coach recalled.
The team led by Roger Schmidt remains in second position in the I Liga, with 33 points, one point behind the leader Sporting, and, in the event of victory, it could be temporarily isolated in the leadership, since the ‘lions’ only enter to the field on Saturday, against Portimonense.
Source: TSF
