Fabio Coentrao says he asked not to be selected in Portugal's squad for the World Cup due to being left physically exhausted by a "very tiring" season.
The 30-year-old, who spent the 2017-18 season playing for Sporting CP on loan from Real Madrid, has featured for Portugal at each of the last two World Cups.
But the left-back confirmed in an Instagram post that he told Portugal coach Fernando Santos not to call him up for the group heading to Russia.
"Last week, after a lot of consideration, I told the national team that after a very tiring season, I feel I am not in the conditions required to represent the Selecao at the World Cup," Coentrao said.