Portugal's Pepe trains separately ahead of semi-final

Pepe could only do fitness work separately from the rest of his teammates Tuesday - just one day before Portugal's semi-final match against Wales.

The 33-year-old defender missed training altogether on Monday after suffering a thigh injury in the quarter-final last week.

Pepe's now a doubt for Wednesday's clash, facing a race against time to recover.

"We'll see how Pepe is tomorrow. We've had this before. We need the players who play in such a tough game to be 100 per cent fit," said manager Fernando Santos.

Ricardo Carvalho will likely replace Pepe in the centre of defence. The 38-year-old started the tournament beside the Real Madrid defender, only to be benched for Jose Fonte.

Pepe has emerged as one of Portugal's best players at Euro 2016, starting in all of his country's five matches thus far. He's also central to Santos' system, proving a resolute presence in a predominately defensive side.

Among the certainties to miss the match are Portugal's William Carvalho and Wales' Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies - all three of whom are suspended for yellow-card accumulation.