Real Madrid defender Pepe has not played since rupturing a knee ligament against Valencia in December.
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz nevertheless opted to include the 27-year-old in his World Cup squad and is now keen to give him the chance to prove his match fitness.
"Pepe will play quite a lot of minutes," said Queiroz. "He will come on in the second half, when the team lowers the rhythm of the game and the intensity.
"He will definitely play, but I will only give the make-up of the team tomorrow.
"We are counting on Pepe to play quite a lot of minutes."
Queiroz has urged his players to treat tomorrow's match as akin to a practice session as they adapt to South Africa and has warned them not to take any risks.
He added: "Our concern is that the players don't get injured, especially at such a time, near the beginning of the competition.
"We want to make a good showing but this game was planned to get the players settled into a different environment.
"It's more of a training session for approaching the first game. At stake is the adaptation to altitude, to the grass, to the ball and the opportunity to balance the minutes of the players within the team."
Portugal face Ivory Coast in their opening World Cup match in eight days' time before taking on Brazil and North Korea in later group games.
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source: football365.com
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