Third-choice goalkeeper Bruno Vale has been forced to pull out of Portugal's World Cup squad after breaking a bone in his right foot.

The Estrela Amadora shot-stopper suffered the injury on Thursday while playing for the national Under-21 side against Serbia & Montenegro in the European Championship.

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari immediately called Braga goalkeeper Paulo Santos into his squad as a replacement, but took time to offer his sympathy to Vale.

"This is a moment of extreme bad luck for Bruno Vale, an athlete of great talent and who will have the support of all of us in trying to recover from this setback in his career as soon as possible," Scolari told the Portuguese Football Federation's official website.

"He is a youngster and will certainly have other opportunities in his career to play in a big competition like the World Cup."