Football coach Villas-Boas out of Dakar Rally after crash

Former Porto and Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas was forced out of the Dakar Rally after crashing during stage four of the gruelling endurance race.

The 40-year-old football coach Villas-Boas suffered a back injury after his Toyota struck a dune on Tuesday (local time) in Peru and was examined in hospital, according to his Overdrive team director Jean-Marc Fortin.

"Just to tell everyone that both me and (co-driver) Ruben (Faria) are safe and well and back in the bivouac," Villas-Boas wrote on Instagram. "We jumped off a dune and crashed the car nose first. The Dakar unfortunately is finished for us."

France's Sebastien Loeb won the stage while his compatriot and defending champion Stephane Peterhansel leads going into stage five. The race concludes January 20 with the 14th stage in Cordoba, Argentina.

Normally staged from Paris to Dakar in Senegal until 2008, the rally then switched to South America, partly due to the threat of terrorism. The current event is the 40th edition of the motorsport classic.