FC Porto Manager Gives Update On Zaidu Sanusi’s Injury

The manager of FC Porto, Sérgio Conceição, has played down concerns that Zaidu Sanusi, might have suffered a severe injury after exiting from Porto’s 2-1 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes.

Given the Nigerian left-back’s recent injury history, supporters were alarmed when Zaidu Sanusi tied the score for Porto before being substituted.

On November 11, Porto’s league match against Guimarães at the Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques started with a 0-1 scoreline against Porto.

The lead was given to Guimarães by André Silva in the seventeenth minute.

However, Sanusi tied the score in the 39th minute when he entered the box and headed in a cross from Francisco Conceição.

Brazil’s Galena replaced the Super Eagles left-back in the 55th minute, four minutes before Conceição scored the game-winning goal for the Dragons.

Despite speculations that Sanusi’s substitution was brought on by an injury, coach Conceição played down any worries about injuries.

Although the Porto manager admitted that Sanusi had taken some hard knock, he also stated that the Nigerian was not playing up to par, which is why he was replaced.

“He suffered a strong tackle, was in difficulty, and before that, I felt he wasn’t at his best,” the coach said.

“We shouldn’t forget the time he was out, the two games he played after the injury, and picking up competitive rhythm is never easy.

“He deserves credit for scoring, and when I saw him struggling, I brought in Taremi and Galeno, moving Pepê to a deeper position.

“It paid off as we could have scored more goals. We lacked aggressiveness in different finishing areas; we showed the potential but need to be more effective.”

Sanusi has been given more time to recover from the knock and get back to full fitness. He was therefore not invited to the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying match this week against Zimbabwe and Lesotho.