Manchester City duo Ruben Dias & Bernardo Silva and Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes have been allowed to leave Portugal’s camp early.
Bernardo, Dias and Fernandes were among eight players given permission by coach Roberto Martinez to leave the camp early after the 5-2 friendly win over Sweden. They will not be involved in next Tuesday’s match against Slovenia as Martinez shuffles his pack to give other players a chance to prove they are worthy of inclusion in his squad for Euro 2024.
Martinez told a press conference: “It’s important to work on different concepts, especially because Slovenia has a very similar structure [to Sweden], also with two strikers, so the players who leave are all taken care of, they are: Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Joao Palhinha, Nelson Semedo , Toti Gomes, Rafael Leão, Bruno Fernandes and Goncalo Ramos. There are another eight players who will arrive at a high level for the second game, with hunger and a lot of energy, I hope.”
Fernandes, Bernardo and Ruben Dias all completed 90 minutes in the thrashing of Sweden, with the United captain scoring Portugal’s second goal. City will be relieved that neither of their Portugal stars picked up injuries after Erling Haaland revealed Pep Guardiola had given his players a firm warning not to over-exert themselves during the international break.
Bernardo and Dias now have extra time to rest ahead of City’s Premier League showdown with title rivals Arsenal while Fernandes has more days to rest ahead of United’s next match at Brentford.
