Portugal coach sweats over Ronaldo, Pepe

Portugal coach Paulo Bento is weighing up whether to gamble on both Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe in Tuesday’s friendly with the Republic of Ireland, as the star duo race to be fit for the World Cup.

The Brazilian showpiece begins on Thursday and the Portuguese face the strongly fancied Germany on June 16 in the so-called “Group of Death,” which also includes Ghana and the USA.

But neither of the Real Madrid aces have been able to play a full part in Portugal’s preparations and have missed the last two warm-up games, a barely deserved 1-0 win over Mexico and a dull 0-0 draw with Greece.

Bento would have hoped that the game against the Irish in New Jersey, in the United States, would be a final chance to fine-tune his squad with the Germany clash less than a week away.

But instead it has taken on extra significance and all eyes will be on how long — if at all — Bento gives Ronaldo, Pepe and Raul Meireles, another key player whose preparations have been disrupted by injury.

“Two of them trained on Saturday and Sunday and Pepe will train today,” Bento revealed on Monday.

“Their situation will depend on how they respond to training and we’ll see what our decision will be for tomorrow’s match.

“It’s always difficult to train without the full squad and it’s always difficult to prepare for a big match like the German one without all the players fit.”

Ronaldo, 29, who has scored 49 goals in 110 matches for Portugal, has been struggling with left thigh and knee problems, while centre back Pepe has had a calf injury.