Yet another injury problem hits Portugal as William Carvalho is sent home, replacement called up

William Carvalho has been released from Portugal duty having failed to recover from injury sustained whilst training with Real Betis.

It has been known for quite some time that William Carvalho has been facing some fitness concerns, the 27-year old midfielder suffering a muscle injury last week, though there was hope that he would be able to maintain a place in the squad, and in the lineup to face Luxembourg and Ukraine over the coming days.

The fact he continued to train with the first team up to this point illustrates how important he is to Fernando Santos’ plans and how keen they were to keep him with the squad, but their optimism has ended in disappointment as he is out of contention for the national team this time around.

Real Betis were reportedly surprised and concerned about the fact that Carvalho continued to train with the Portugal squad up until yesterday, the Spanish outfit fully expecting him to be released from international duty.

That again shows how highly regarded he is by the current regime, though ultimately Fernando Santos will now have to find alternative solutions to make up for the absence of the composed central midfielder.

And he has already named his replacement for the former Sporting player, opting to call up Everton star Andre Gomes to take his place in the now 24-man squad.

Benfica’s pacey winger Rafa Silva was also dismissed from international duty on Monday, meaning he too is completely out of contention for both of Portugal’s matches this week.

No replacement has been called up for the 26-year old forward, while left back Mario Rui also remains a doubt, carrying an injury of his own.

Portugal host Luxmebourg at 19:45 on Friday, before travelling to Kiev to play Ukraine at the same time on the 14th October.

William Carvalho. Photo author: Дмитрий Голубович. License link.