Football WC: Injuries mount for under-fire Portugal

Brasilia: Striker Hugo Almeida and defender Fabio Coentrao are major injury doubts for Portugal coach Paulo Bento in the wake of their 4-0 drubbing by Germany at the World Cup.

Portuguese media report Real Madrid`s Coentrao is out for a minimum of 10 days with a leg injury despite managing to finish the Group G match. Almeida is also rated doubtful for Portugal`s next clash against the USA on June 22 after pulling up with a muscle injury in the first-half against Germany. "The outlook isn`t the best, they are two muscular injuries and will take time to heal," said Bento. "We`ll have to see how bad they are, but the signs are not encouraging." Bento is definitely without centre-back Pepe for the Stars and Stripes game after his first-half dismissal against Germany for head-butting Thomas Mueller, who claimed a hat-trick. "We have to come up with the best solutions to any absences now," said Bento. "We have to fight for our objectives and goals. "We`ll be under a lot of pressure, regardless of the result of Ghana verses the USA. "Our goal remains to qualify. We`re not happy, starting a tournament with a result like this makes it complicated. "Now we`ll find out who we are and we`ll see our capacity to fight for our goals."