Portugal coach Paulo Bento is set to gamble on both Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe in tonights friendly against the Republic of Ireland.
Neither Ronaldo or Pepe have been in full flow training wise, and Portugal face an anxious wait before their first game with Germany.
29 year old Ronaldo has been struggling for sometime following a long season at Madrid.
Meanwhile Pepe has not took part in the team’s World Cup warm up camp in New York.
“Two of them trained on Saturday and Sunday and Pepe will train today,” Bento revealed on Monday.
“Their situation will depend on how they respond to training and we’ll see what our decision will be for tomorrow’s match.
“It’s always difficult to train without the full squad and it’s always difficult to prepare for a big match like the German one without all the players fit.”
Ronaldo scored 31 La Liga goals for Real last season, and helped them win the Champions League in late May.
Should the winger be ruled out, it would be a real blow for the Portuguese, who are in the group of death alongside Germany, USA and Ghana.
By Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1