Qatar World Cup 2022 playoffs: No Ruben Dias, Pepe and more leave Portugal fans sweating

Portugal will be without their first-choice centre-backs, Ruben Dias and Pepe, during their Qatar World Cup 2022 playoffs against Turkey on Thursday, leaving fans of the Cristiano Ronaldo-led team disheartened.

Seen as a major blow to Fernando Santos' side, who will be desperately hoping to make it to this year's showpiece event, Ruben Dias has been ruled out of action owing to a hamstring injury, while Pepe has tested positive for Covid-19.

"Pepe tested positive for Covid-19 and will fulfil the scheduled isolation days," said an official FPF statement.

"Fernando Santos, National Coach, [has] called up Tiago Djalo, defender of Lille, who was at the service of the U21 National Team. The National Team trains this afternoon, at Cidade do Futebol, in the first session of preparation for the game with Turkey, in the playoff [for] the 2022 World Cup," the statement added.

Portugal will play Turkey on March 24 in Porto, with the winners to face either Italy or North Macedonia five days later in a game that will determine one of the last three spots left for European teams at Qatar 2022, which kicks off in November.

Veteran Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo was named in the 25-man squad that started their preparation on Monday.

Also read: Qatar World Cup 2022: Pundits predict Ronaldo's role for Portugal in playoffs

Despite being 39-year-old, Pepe is still considered Portugal's star centre-back. With 139 international caps, the Porto man has been a mainstay in the team's defence line-up since his debut in 2007.

As for Ruben Dias, the Manchester City defender suffered a hamstring injury on March 1 during a FA Cup clash against Peterborough. Providing an update on Dias' injury, Pep Guardiola had said over the weekend, "They told me five or six weeks." 

"I think we will be short after the international break, but they told me it is getting better. His symptoms are very good. But the problem when he got injured, the doctors told me to be careful. It looks like you are good but falling down again means the season is over," the Man City boss had added.

Portugal were already without Joao Cancelo and Renato Sanches, with the pair picking up suspensions. Both players were booked in the 2-1 home defeat against Serbia in November, having been cautioned earlier in the competition. Ruben Neves and Nelson Semedo will also sit out the Turkey game owing to injuries.

Portugal coach Santos has described the coming days as the most important challenge of his time in charge. As Portugal manager, Santos bagged the 2016 European Championship and reached the last-16 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia in his eight years.

The coach is confident that his team, who dropped into the playoffs after losing their final group stage qualifier to Serbia, can go through if they keep their cool.

"We are in this spiral of drama that is not positive for us. We lost one game in the last seven games. There were things that didn't go well, but we just didn't win a game against Serbia," Santos said.

"We were very upset about that, but now it's about taking what was positive and win again. Talent wins games, but a team wins championships. Players know that, and they are in the right mindset," the Portugal boss added.

Meanwhile, the news of both Pepe and Ruben Dias out of Portugal's clash against Turkey has left several fans of the Ronaldo-led team disheartened. Here's a look at some of the reactions: