Guerreiro out, Silva major doubt for Portugal´s semi-final clash

Bernardo Silva is a major doubt for Portugal’s Confederations Cup semi-final with Chile, head coach Fernando Santos has confirmed.

The Manchester City midfielder is still recovering from an ankle injury he sustained while scoring his side’s second goal in their 4-0 Group A win over New Zealand.

Silva trained alone at Kazan’s Tsentralny Stadium on Tuesday in a bid to accelerate his recovery but Santos is unwilling to take any undue risks.

“We still have 24 hours. He’s reacted well to his recovery but we have to wait,” Santos told a news conference. 

“Time is very important in this case and we’ll decide what’s best tomorrow [Wednesday].

“I’m just thinking about the game, full stop. The most important thing for me and my team is to win.”

Santos also confirmed that full-back Raphael Guerreiro has not recovered from the ankle blow he sustained in the opening draw with Mexico, meaning he will also sit out the match.

Portugal’s defence has been further damaged by the suspension to Pepe, with the experienced centre-back serving a one-game ban for collecting two yellow cards in the group stage.

Santos, however, is taking inspiration from the fact that his side won their Euro 2016 semi-final against Wales last year even though Pepe was unavailable.

“I hope history repeats itself. We had central defenders Jose Fonte and Bruno Alves in the semi-final of the Euros,” he added.