On September 24, Beijing time, the Chinese Super League powerhouse Shanghai Seaport came to heavy news, foreign aid Lopez unfortunately suffered a serious injury of torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and had to say goodbye to this season in advance. At the same time, another core player of the team, Oscar, also suffered from injuries and will need to rest for 6 weeks before he can recover. This will undoubtedly add to the difficulty of the seaport's championship campaign. As for the F.A.C.A. Cup, Jinan has been selected as a finalist for the tournament, allowing Taishan to return to their home ground and give it their best shot. Seaport registered five foreign players at the beginning of the league season, however, new center back Mystorovic suffered a serious injury at the beginning of the season and missed the first phase of the Super League. It wasn't until recently that he had the chance to return to Seaport and join the team's daily training, and is expected to make an appearance in the F.A.C. Cup and the Super League. Arnautovic returned to the team in the middle of the season, but he has confirmed his imminent departure, and Seaport has consequently signed a new foreigner, Junior Paulinho. During this interval, Oscar unfortunately suffered an injury which was diagnosed as a compression fracture of the toe bone in his right foot, and is expected to be out for 6 weeks. This means that he may not be able to make it to the start of the F.A.C. Cup. Oscar will only have a chance to make a comeback if Harbour make it to the quarterfinals or finals. Muay, who has been selected for the Australian national team, will also miss some of the Super League matches, making it difficult to compete in the FFA Cup, but he is expected to make his comeback in the Super League in December. Lopez's injury is particularly serious and he will not be able to play the rest of the season. Nonetheless, Lopez's play has been up and down this season, and he has not performed well in the second phase of the competition, even less so than local players Lu Wenjun and Li Shenglong. During his injury layoff, the Harbour can arrange for new central defender Mysztorowicz to boost the defense, while up front there is a combination of foreigners like Oscar, Paulinho Jr. and Moui, whose overall strength is still not to be underestimated. Seaport scored 28 points in the first phase of this season's Chinese Super League, five points behind leader Taishan, but still have a chance to compete for the title in the second phase. The competition for the F.A.C. Cup is also full of challenges, after all, the team only has two foreigners, Paulinho Jr. and Mysztorowicz, who are confirmed to be able to play. Currently, the FA Cup zones are basically determined, Jinan will be one of the zones, and Taishan will return to play at home. It is reported that the knockout round of 32 in the AFC Cup will be played in four regions, Jinan, Dalian, Changchun and Meizhou in the list. The specific mode of play and the arrangement of the tournament area still need to be confirmed by the official AFC Cup. The main round matches of this season's AFC Cup are expected to be played from October 13 to November 14, with a month to decide the champion. As the defending champion, Taishan will have difficulty in defending their title in the absence of six international players, but Hao Wei will still lead the team to fight for good results. Foreign aid Fellaini and Sun Junhao are in isolation and are expected to return to the team in early October to prepare for the AFC Cup.
