João Tomás out of Portugal reckoning

SC Braga striker João Tomás will not play in Portugal's upcoming UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers after being ruled out of action with a right thigh injury.

Crucial games
The 32-year-old, who scored his first international goal in Portugal's 1-1 friendly draw with Kuwait in June, picked up the injury in his side's 2-0 win at CF Os Belenenses on Saturday. He will miss his side's upcoming league games against CF Estrela da Amadora and Vitória FC as well as Portugal's UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against Poland and Serbia on 8 and 12 September. The four-times capped player now faces a race against time to be fit for the start of Braga's UEFA Cup first round campaign on 20 September. Portugal are third in Group A but have a game in hand on leading sides Serbia and Finland.