Portugal is currently grappling with an internal crisis after reports of a possible rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and manager Jorge Jesus emerged following the star's departure from the squad.
The 41-year-old revealed that he will let the fans know in time about what really panned out behind the scenes, and his exit has sparked intense rumors of retirement too.
Whether he hangs up his boots or not, Ronaldo is now confirmed to miss their next two international fixtures against Denmark and Wales with the player already flying back home.
Although much of the internet is ruing the shock development coming out of the Portuguese camp, there could be someone who'd be looking at this with a glint in his eye.
The door finally opens for Silva
Borussia Dortmund's Fabio Silva had earned a call-up to Portugal's squad by Jesus following a surprising run of form with the club that saw him bag four goals and an assist in six appearances.
However, it was yet to translate into an appearance with the national team. In fact, Silva had even failed to make it into the new Selecao manager's matchday squads for Wales and Norway last week.
Now with Ronaldo leaving the camp, Jesus has one less attacking option to choose from, and the 24-year-old BVB forward has finally been considered among the players to feature in their next.
Mind you, it doesn't automatically guarantee that Silva will see the pitch. But it goes give him something that hadn't had in their earlier fixtures: an opportunity to come off the bench.
A chance to show what he can offer
Ronaldo's departure doesn't suddenly make Portugal thin offensively. This is a squad packed to the rafters with talented attackers such as Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos, Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto, Francisco Trincão and even Bruno Fernandes, although the Manchester United star is currently missing with injury.
Without Ronaldo, Jesus may employ Ramos as their preferred striker, especially after his match-winning heroics in Olso at the weekend. Silva is neither a winger nor a No.9; his qualities lie in operating off the striker as he does so effectively at Dortmund.
He drops deep to win back the ball, links up plays, make forward runs and draws defenders towards him to create space for others. Jesus had even hailed Silva as someone who offers 'something different' to the more marquee attackers in the squad.
Perhaps, it's time for him to give Silva a chance to demonstrate those qualities, and more importantly, an opportunity to stake a claim in the Portugal squad in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.
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