Regarding the remainder of Porto's roster, Victor Froholdt and Diogo Costa were excluded, while Deniz Gul, Yann Karamoh, and Angel Alarcon remain available options for Francesco Farioli.

"Yesterday, I received the heartbreaking news that I have torn my anterior cruciate ligament. I am deeply saddened. After months of intense effort and training to return and support this amazing club, FC Porto, it is painful to be sidelined once again.

"I will confront this challenge with all my determination, aiming to come back stronger both physically and mentally," wrote De Jong on Instagram.

An initial check at Olival on Monday showed a contusion in his left knee, but further examinations on Thursday confirmed an injury to the same knee that previously caused him to miss two and a half months.

"Following the traumatic event detailed in the medical report after the match against Estoril Praia (1-0), Luuk de Jong suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

"FC Porto states that the player is now under the supervision of the Health Department and wishes him a speedy and full recovery, reaffirming the Club’s total support for Luuk de Jong throughout the entire process," the club’s statement said, without mentioning a timeline for his return.

On September 8th, the seasoned 35-year-old Dutch player was injured during a closed-door friendly against Lusitania de Lourosa, after participating in three official games and scoring once for the Dragons since his unexpected debut in the pre-season match against Atletico Madrid.

Upon returning to play, he was being carefully managed to increase his involvement in December - he played 15 minutes against Sintrense, 18 minutes versus Nice, and 23 minutes against Estoril - but an injury in that last game will now force him out indefinitely.

The only encouraging news for Farioli is that the medical team has successfully recovered Turkish forward Gul, who is called up to face Vitoria alongside Karamoh and Alarcon. Costa and Froholdt are excluded as part of load management.

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