Portugal’s Fabio Coentrao ruled out of World Cup with groin injury

Fabio Coentrao of Portugal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group G match between Germany and Portugal at Arena Fonte Nova

Portugal defender Fabio Coentrao has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after picking up an injury in their defeat to Germany.

Not much went right for Portugal in their opening game, which ended in a humiliating 4-0 loss, with Germany dominating every aspect of the game especially the midfield battle. Their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo looked out of sorts, Pepe was sent off for a headbutt, and the disappointing start to their tournament has now been compounded with this set-back.

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 adductor muscle.

The Real Madrid left-back 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.

“But this is just a game and despite the heavy defeat, we can still go through to the next round.”

As well as losing the 26-year-old, there are also concerns about the fitness of striker Hugo Almeida and goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Unlike Coentrao, both players will remain with the squad as they only suffered grade one injuries, and may be able to feature later in the tournament.