The Bundesliga eleven had a 3–0 lead from last week's meeting in Lisbon, when Gyökeres was substituted in after an hour of play. Wednesday's meeting in Dortmund ended 0–0 and the Germans are through to the round of 16. Home team's successful Swede Daniel Svensson played the entire match as left back.
Victor Gyökeres – who achieved great CL success in the group stage with six goals in eight matches – has been plagued by injury concerns and did not travel with the team to Germany. Before the match, Sporting's coach Rui Borges was unclear whether Gyökeres was absent due to injury or if he was being rested for the league match against bottom team AVS away on the weekend.
"We prioritize all competitions, but we have had some injuries that have made it difficult for us to make decisions during the recent matches. On Sunday, we will also have a very tough match in the league", said Rui Borges according to the club's website.
