Fabio Coentrão and Hugo Almeida to miss remainder of group stages
Portugal will be without Fabio Coentrão and Hugo Almeida for at least the remainder of the group stages.
Matthew Lewis
Portugal will be without Fabio Coentrão and Hugo Almeida for at least the remainder of the World Cup's group stages. Both players were withdrawn by Paulo Bento in their shock 4-0 defeat to Germany on Monday, and the team doctor Henrique Jones has revealed that both players will be out for "more than 10 days."
Striker Almeida left the game in the first half and was replaced by Eder, before Coentrão was stretchered off just past the hour mark. It’s the latter’s injury that will probably hit Portugal harder, and it sounds like it could be a little more serious than the team doctor is letting on. Coentrão has been quoted as saying:
"I'm afraid that my World Cup has come to an end. I think it's a serious injury, though I hope it's not. These things happen in our profession and, unfortunately, today it fell to me. It's a very sad day, one of the saddest of my life. But this is just a game and despite the heavy defeat, we can still go through to the next round."
Rough Start in Brazil
Portugal are without a real like-for-like replacement for Coentrão, with right-footed André Almeida likely to fill in on his weaker side for at least Portugal's remaining group games against the U.S. and Ghana.
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