Portugal winger Nani has been ruled out of the World Cup with a shoulder injury.

The Manchester United player damaged his collar bone during training in Lisbon last week and will be replaced by Benfica’s Ruben Amorim.

 

Nani, who scored three goals in qualifying, was almost certain to start in Portugal’s first-team in South Africa.

And it’s the disruption their manager Carlos Queiroz could have done with out just days before their opener with Ivory Coast.

After an unconvincing qualifying campaign and drawing a blank against Cape Verde in a warm-up match, the Portuguese were beginning to find form by beating fellow finalists Cameroon in comfortable fashion.

Their friendly against Mozambique will be a chance to for Queiroz to test some of his fringe players in the squad contesting for Nani’s place.

Nani is the latest high profile player to be either ruled out or declared doubtful for the tournament. Rio Ferdinand, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel and Michael Ballack will not feature in South Africa, while Didier Drogba, Andrea Pirlo and Arjen Robben face a battle to prove their fitness.