Wales could see their Euro 2016 semi-final prospects boosted after news emerged that Portugal defender Pepe is an injury doubt.

The Real Madrid centre back Pepe has a thigh muscle problem and missed training on Monday as his team-mates prepared for Wednesday's game.

The 33-year-old is arguably Portugal's second most important player and Fernando Santos will struggle replacing him like-for-like should he fail to recover in time for the clash in Lyon.

Portugal defender Pepe missed training on Monday as he is suffering with a thigh injury

The Real Madrid defender was in training on Sunday but is now a doubt for Wednesday's semi-final

Wales talisman Gareth Bale, who plays with Pepe at Real Madrid, would have been expecting a tough tussle with the veteran centre half. So, Bale and his team-mates will no doubt be buoyed by the news, should the Portuguese miss out.

Bale, however, is still set to face Real team-mate Ronaldo, but that is likely to take the form of a mental duel played at opposite ends of the pitch.

Pepe's aggression has been crucial to Portugal's battling road to the semi-finals, with the 2004 finalists yet to win a game in France without the aid of a penalty shoot-out.

The centre back (left) is arguably Portugal's second most important player and would be a huge miss

Former Chelsea and Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho is most likely to step in should Pepe miss the clash, with Cagliari's Bruno Alves also an option.

Midfielder William Carvalaho will also miss the match through suspension, after being booked against Poland.

Wales have problems of their own with key midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Tottenham defender Ben Davies suspended having picked up their second bookings of the tournament in the 3-1 victory over Belgium.