Portugal Boss Carlos Queiroz Reveals Nani's Despair Over World Cup Injury
Seleccao boss talks of winger's desperate action...
Portugal national coach Carlos Queiroz has revealed that winger Nani threatened to commit suicide to prevent being ruled out of the World Cup.
The Manchester United winger sat out of Portugal's World Cup campaign after sustaining a shoulder injury in a practice session just days before his team left for South Africa.
Nani still travelled with the Seleccao to Magaliesburg, where their training camp was located, but he was ultimately ruled out of the event and replaced by Benfica midfielder Ruben Amorim.
Queiroz has now confessed that the player did everything in his power to remain with Portugal and play his part in the showpiece event.
"He knew about it [the injury] immediately, it is just that his psychological reactions were extremely painful and complex," Queiroz told Expresso.
"When we went to get his first x-ray done, Nani, in an act of despair, grabbed the car's stick shift and said: 'If you take me there, I will jump out of the car right here on the highway."He was determined. His passion and desire to represent Portugal had no limits. It was his World Cup, at the age of 22.
"He would ask me: 'Coach, give me two days, two days and I will be fine'. He refused to accept that the fracture existed."
When asked about the decision to take Nani to South Africa despite the injury, Queiroz said: "The day after his injury, his substitution had already been decided.
"Identifying the fracture, there were no doubts, medically speaking. But the players are not exactly wrapping paper.
"'You broke your clavicle, you're going home' - that is not like that. There is also the athlete's personality and character.
"One thing is the decision; another is the opportunity and the way how the information is transmitted," he concluded.
