Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur target Fabio Coentrao ruled out of World Cup scuppering chances of a move

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur target Fabio Coentrao has been ruled out of the World Cup and that has scuppered any chances of a move this summer, as he may miss the beginning of the season for Real Madrid.

Coentrao had to be stretchered off after 65 minutes of the Group G clash, and a scan has confirmed he suffered a grade two tear of his abductor muscle. The Madrid defender was subsequently ruled out of the tournament and it was another blow to an already bleak World Cup campaign for Portgual.

While Coentrao was expected to regain fitness for the beginning of pre-season, however, his injury is set to rule him out of the beginning of Madrid’s campaign and therefore scuppering any chances of him moving to England.

United were heavily interested in Coentrao last summer, but they failed to land their man and the international left-back stayed with Los Blancos.

With the Red Devils’ interest in Luke Shaw cooling off, they were reportedly keen on adding Coentrao to their ranks, according to the Express.

However, Spurs were adding stiff competition for Coentrao’s signature and the Lilywhites looked set to win the race for their long-term target.

Coentrao told reporters of his upset at missing the tournament:

He said: “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.”Coentrao had a pass accuracy of 94% before his injury against Germany.