Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho and Raphael Guerreiro will all miss Portugal's Nations League match against Switzerland this weekend, coach Fernando Santos announced on Saturday.
The trio have been excused the journey to Geneva on "management" grounds rather than injury. "It's not about physical problems, it's a question of management," said Santos during a press conference in Lisbon. "It wouldn't make sense to travel to Switzerland with 26 players, when we can only have 23 on the bench," he added without further details.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, did not take part in the final training session before the squad took off for Geneva.
Portugal face Switzerland on Sunday to stay top of Group 2 in League A of the Nations League. After a 1-1 draw in Seville with Spain and two wins in Lisbon over Switzerland, in which Ronaldo scored twice, and the Czech Republic, Portugal have seven points, two ahead of the Spanish. .