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Portugal have suffered an injury blow as Nuno Mendes has been ruled out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Mendes, 20, was forced off in the first half of Portugal's 2-0 win over Uruguay on Monday, 28 November, after suffering a thigh contracture.
He trudged off the pitch in tears, with doubts growing over his future involvement in the FIFA World Cup for Selecao das Quinas.
Selecao das Quinas boss Fernando Santos said that Mendes' situation would be examined in his press conference ahead of Portugal's clash with South Korea.
He said (via Portugoal):
"When we leave this press conference we’ll have our training session and see how they are progressing. This morning they were still having treatment. We’ll see if they are apt and then we’ll make a decision.”
Unfortunately, the Paris Saint-Germain left-back has now been ruled out of the competition as a whole.
He was in impressive form for PSG prior to the tournament in Qatar, making 17 appearances, scoring two goals, and providing four assists.
Mendes did not start Portugal's 3-2 win over Ghana in their FIFA World Cup opener and was nursing a hamstring injury heading into the competition.
Portugal defender Ruben Dias deems winning the FIFA World Cup as the biggest trophy feat
Portugal have confirmed qualification to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup after wins over Ghana and Uruguay.
They face South Korea on Friday, 2 December, and are likely to finish as Group H winners as they hold a three-point lead over second-placed Ghana.
Selecao das Quinas will face either Serbia or Switzerland in the next round, with the two sides' clash on Friday.
Santos' side have also scored three more goals than the Black Stars.
Selecao das Quinas have never won the World Cup, and Dias is eager to do so as he feels it is the biggest accomplishment in football.
He said that his involvement at this year's tournament in Qatar is special (via Eurosport):
"It will definitely be a special moment. I had the chance of being in the 2018 World Cup in Russia."
He continued,
“I felt a different perspective because it’s one thing to watch it from the outside, you know how big it is, but then to actually live it and be there, it’s just something else."
The Manchester City defender then touched on the potential of winning the World Cup:
“As a player, it’s probably the biggest [trophy] you can achieve. It’s unfair to put it into words, to be honest, the feeling you must have after you’ve done it.”
