Two Feyenoord players came to blows and had to be separated as tempers flared during the Rotterdam club's winter training camp in Portugal, Dutch media reported on Thursday.

Pictures showed midfielder Tonny Vilhena kicking defender Miquel Nelom after an altercation during a morning session.

"It exploded this morning during Feyenoord's training session" at a luxury resort on the Portuguese south coast, Dutch football magazine Voetbal International said on its website.

"Tonny Vilhena was tapped on the ankles by Miquel Nelom and after that things escalated quickly," the magazine said.

"A blow and a kick later, and goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer intervened" before other players helped pulling the two apart.

Coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the former Netherlands captain, separated the duo before finishing the session with them, the magazine added.

However, Van Bronckhorst said "it's probably not such a clever thing for it to happen when the press and public are standing next to the field," the Dutch daily tabloid De Telegraaf added.

Feyenoord are currently third in the Eredivise table, two points behind second-place PSV Eindhoven, who they face in their next game later this month.