Lisbon, Mar 22 (AP) Veteran defender Pepe has been ruled out of Portugal's World Cup qualifier against Turkey after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Portuguese Football Federation said Pepe has gone into isolation and Tiago Djaló of French club Lille was called as his replacement ahead of Thursday's playoff game in Porto.

Also Read | Louis Van Gaal, Netherlands Manager, Slams FIFA for Picking Qatar As World Cup 2022 Hosts, Calls Decision, 'Ridiculous, Bull****'.

It wasn't yet clear if the 39-year-old Pepe, who plays for Porto, would be able to play the second qualifier next week if Portugal advanced past Turkey.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos also won't be able to count on the injured Rúben Dias, the team's other regular starting central defender.

Also Read | Lakshya Sen Withdraws From Swiss Open 2022, Say Reports.

Midfielder Rúben Neves is also unavailable because of an injury. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)