September 20, (THEWILL) – Porto defender, Zaidu Sanusi, was substituted at half-time during his side’s 3-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, due to a possible muscle injury, manager Sergio Conceicao has revealed.
The left-back was making his 25th consecutive appearance for Porto in the competition, but was replaced by Wendell before the start of the second half. Conceicao confirmed that Sanusi felt some discomfort in his muscles and was withdrawn as a precaution.
Upon the team’s return to Portugal Sanusi is set to undergo scans to determine the extent of the injury. Conceicao stated: “Zaidu may have a muscle problem and we thought he shouldn’t play in the second half, but we’ll re-evaluate him when we’re back in Porto.”
The fitness of the 26-year-old will be of interest to Nigeria manager Jose Peseiro as he prepares to announce his squad for next month’s friendly against Saudi Arabia. Sanusi was left out of Nigeria’s recent Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
His return to action will depend on the results of the scans. Porto will hope the injury does not rule the defender out for an extended period as they look to progress from a competitive Champions League group where they have been drawn against Barcelona and Royal Antwerp.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
