Manchester United forward, Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly injured his thigh during training on Thursday, January 13, 2022, according to a report by a United Kingdom publication, The Sun.
The report claimed that Ronaldo was forced to leave the training ground early on Thursday after he sustained the injury. He had to return to his apartment miles away from the club’s training ground.
If the injury and the report are anything to go by, Manchester United might have to face Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday, January 15 without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Recall that the 36-year-old Portuguese forward was not available for the club on January 10, 2022, when Aston Villa visited Old Trafford for the FA Cup third round. In his absence, Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0 to knock coach Steven Gerrard and his boys out of the tournament.
The reason why coach Ralf Rangnick left out Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the FA Cup third-round victory over Aston Villa was because of a hip problem.
But The Sun claimed that the 5 times Ballon d’Or winner has developed a fresh injury that could keep him out of the Premier League game against the same club on Saturday. If he misses the Premier League game which will kick off at 18:30 on Saturday, it would become the second successive time that the Portuguese star missed a United game since he returned to the club in August 2021.
At the time of publishing this report, Manchester United were yet to confirm whether Ronaldo was injured during training on Thursday. Also, there has not been any official statement explaining why Ronaldo left Manchester United’s Carrington training facility before other players.
Reports claimed that the 36-year-old Portuguese football star was examined by Manchester United medical team before he left the training facility.
He would now have to fast-track his recovery process using his private oxygen chamber. If that fails to return him to full fitness, he would have to be sidelined this weekend.
Since Ronaldo returned to Manchester United, the Portuguese star has scored 14 goals and provided three assists in 21 games in all competitions. He is hoping that he could help Manchester United to return to the Premier League top four before the end of this season.
"I don't accept less than the top three."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 12, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo says that #MUFC should not accept anything less than a top three finish in the Premier League this season. pic.twitter.com/A54QAmHqMK
The club is currently sitting on the 7th spot with 31 points in 19 games, six points below 4th placed West Ham United.
