Cristiano Ronaldo sparked a commotion in the Manchester United locker room as he jetted off to Portugal after being ruled out of the match against Manchester City.
The 37-year-old Portuguese striker suffered a hip injury late last week and was unable to feature in United’s 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“Cristiano had some hip flexor problems on Friday, and he hasn’t trained since,” interim manager Ralf Rangnick stated before of kick-off.
Ronaldo has 15 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils this season, so his absence was a significant blow.
Because of his record-breaking career, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner enjoys the talismanic status and is a key member of the squad.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, was notable in his absence at the weekend, as he did not travel the short distance across town to see the game.
Instead, according to The Athletic, he traveled to his native Portugal, surprising his colleagues considering the gravity of the match.
While United does not compel injured players to attend games, according to the source, Ronaldo’s teammates believed that his presence would have benefited them due to his high regard.
They’ll be hoping he recovers from his hip problem, which also kept him out of the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in January, in time for Saturday’s match against Tottenham.
Rangnick did not give a time frame for Ronaldo’s return, only stating that he is unavailable, after analyst Roy Keane questioned the reason for his absence.
“There appears to be more to the Ronaldo scenario, with the manager going out and talking about his hip flexor, but the man is a machine and is rarely injured,” Keane told Sky Sports.
“Every now and then he says something about his hip flexor, which doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I have to believe our medical department,” Rangnick said after the Manchester derby.
Ralf Rangnick Response to Roy Keane
Ronaldo was ruled out of the 187th Manchester derby owing to a hip flexor injury, according to Ralf Rangnick, who did not go with the United squad to the Etihad Stadium.
“We speak about Ronaldo being a machine and very seldom gets injured… that doesn’t stack up to me,” Sky Sports analyst Roy Keane said before the game, referring to Ronaldo’s injury.
Before the match, Katia Aveiro, Ronaldo’s sister, tried to cast doubt on the 37-year-fitness old’s by liking an Instagram post claiming he was not injured and had been dropped by Rangnick.
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Following United’s devastating 4-1 loss to City, Rangnick responded to Keane’s comments.
The interim United CEO stated, “I have to have faith in my medical department.” “My doctor came to see me before training on Friday morning and told me Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t train because of hip flexor difficulties, and he couldn’t be part of the squad on Saturday.”
Rangnick was also questioned regarding striker Edinson Cavani’s availability, having utilized Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba as a false nine in Ronaldo’s absence.
