Captain “Benfica” Zhardel will not help his team in the matches of the 1/16 finals of the Europa League against Shakhtar Donetsk.

This was announced by the official website of the Lisbon club.

The 33-year-old central defender dropped out for two months due to damage to the inner lateral ligament of the right knee, which he received in the first semifinal match of the Portuguese Cup against Famalican (3: 2).

This season, Zhardela has 10 matches for the club in all tournaments.

The first match against the “Benfica” team Luis Kashtru will hold February 20 in Kharkov. The return match - February 27 in Lisbon.

Pitmen's application for playoffs of Europa League earlier became known.