Héctor Herrera has admitted Porto missed Fernando in Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Sevilla.
Luís Castro’s side were beaten 4-1 by the Spanish outfit, meaning they lost 4-2 on aggregate and missed out on a place in the semi-finals.
Speaking after the game, Herrera felt Porto would have benefitted from having Fernando, who was suspended, on the pitch, though felt Porto should have played better, regardless of his absence.
Jackson [Martínez] and Fernando are important players in this side and we always rely on them, but I don"t think it was because of their absence that we ended up like this," he told UEFA.com.
"Sevilla are a good team – they play good football and now we can only wish them luck. I hope they can achieve their objective. Their fans were really up for it tonight, they never stopped urging them on."