Sporting CP are set to be without captain Adrian Silva for their crucial UEFA Champions League Group F double-header against Borussia Dortmund after the midfielder underwent knee surgery, leaving the Lions without the man that makes their game tick with his creativity and fighting spirit.
The 27-year-old is out for four to six weeks, meaning he will not face Dortmund in Lisbon on 18 October or Germany two weeks later. Crucial to Sporting’s fine Liga campaign last season and Portugal’s UEFA EURO 2016 triumph, Adrien’s influence for Jorge Jesus’s team has been even more obvious this term.