The Shanghai Harbour team was preparing for the AFC Cup when they received a heavy blow: Oscar, the team captain and midfielder soul, suffered a fracture in training and is expected to be out of action for up to six weeks.
Just last night, Harbor officials announced the details of Oscar's injury. It is reported that during a regular training session, Oscar was accidentally injured in a fierce scramble. Diagnosed by the hospital, he suffered a compression fracture of the toe bone of his right foot, and the treatment and recovery cycle is expected to be six weeks.
This means that Oscar will not be able to return to the pitch until November, which will undoubtedly be a huge challenge for Shanghai Seaport's campaign in the F.A.C. Cup.
This year's FA Cup will kick off in mid-October, with the first two rounds of matches to be completed by October 20, followed by the top eight. Although the FA has not yet announced the specific schedule for the third round, according to previous information, the quarter-finals will also be completed by the end of October.
If this schedule is followed, Harbour will have to complete the first three rounds of the F.A.C. Cup without Oscar. The first round opponents are lower league teams and Oscar's absence will have limited impact. However, if the draw for the second round is unfavorable, they may meet a strong team from the Chinese Super League, while the third round of the eight-quarter finals will be even more difficult.
Oscar's importance to the Harbor team cannot be overstated, and his absence has had a huge impact on the team. In the first 14 matches of the first phase of the Chinese Super League (CSL) season, Oscar started in all of them, contributing three goals and eight assists to lead the CSL assists list.
What's worse, another foreign player of Harbour Team, Australian international player Muay, will also miss all the matches of the AFC Cup due to his participation in the World Cup qualifying matches. The absence of two top players in the midfield will undoubtedly make it more difficult for Harbour to win the AFC Cup this season.
However, Oscar may still be able to make it to the semi-finals in time for the two-legged semi-final match if Harbour can overcome the difficulties and make it to the quarter-finals of the F.A.C. Cup. It is worth mentioning that the second stage of the Super League's title contenders group will not start until December, and this injury of Oscar will not affect the Harbour Team's competition in the last eight rounds of Super League matches.
Oscar, who just celebrated his 30th birthday, also took to social media to express his gratitude to the team after the official release of the injury, "Thank you to the team. I'm fine and will see you all again soon."
