"We want to send a message of concern and solidarity to Dario Silva. He's an athlete who has had a misfortune and we hope that he recovers as soon as possible," the Brazilian World Cup-winning manager told reporters in Lisbon.

Silva, 33, left a hospital in Montevideo on Thursday, 10 days after doctors amputated his leg below the knee.

He was driving his van in the company of former footballers Elbio Pappa and Dard Pereira when the accident occurred on September 24 near Montevideo.

His two friends received only minor injuries.

Silva played for Portsmouth in the English Premiership last season but was without a club at the time of the accident.

The player, who previously played for Cagliari, Espanyol, Malaga and Sevilla in his decade in Europe, was on holidays in his homeland awaiting news of a possible transfer to a new club.

He scored 15 goals in 49 international games for Uruguay, and played at the 2002 World Cup.