Cristiano Ronaldo misses Portugal World Cup training due to ‘bug’

Manchester United: Cristiano Ronaldo slams the Glazers

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Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo missed training on Wednesday with a reported ‘stomach bug’, raising questions on whether he will return for Portugal’s pre-World Cup friendly on Thursday. The veteran forward was captured in awkward exchanges with the likes of Joao Cancelo and Bruno Fernandes earlier this week after making fiery remarks in an interview with Piers Morgan. 

The build-up for what is likely to be Ronaldo’s final World Cup has been far from ideal. Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag has used him sparingly so far this season and the former Real Madrid ace lashed out in a recent interview. 

As a result, fellow United hotshot Bruno Fernandes appeared to give him a hostile greeting when the pair linked up for World Cup duty earlier this week. Furthermore, footage emerged of a frosty exchange with Manchester City’s Cancelo in a separate training-ground incident. 

With a friendly against Nigeria lined up for Thursday evening and their Group H opener against Ghana pencilled in seven days later, reports indicate that Ronaldo has concerningly come down with an upset stomach that kept him out of training on Wednesday. 

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It remains to be seen whether the health setback impacts Ronaldo’s ability to train for the rest of this week but Sport TV claim he will now not feature against Nigeria. Portugal are one of several nations to have scheduled a warm-up friendly, after losing their latest international fixture against Spain in September. 

Ronaldo is enduring a rocky period but he remains the all-time top scorer at international level, for any country, with 117 goals in 190 appearances. He will naturally look to add to that tally in Group H, which Portugal share with Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea. 

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After the World Cup, Ronaldo is widely expected to find a way out of Old Trafford after causing controversy with a fiery interview about his recent time with the Red Devils. The 37-year-old told Piers Morgan that he does not respect United boss Erik ten Hag and that, behind the scenes, people are attempting to force him out of the club. 

Having starred for the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid and Juventus, an ageing Ronaldo has started just four Premier League games this season, scoring once. Former team-mate and United legend Rio Ferdinand was among those to hit back at Ronaldo’s comments, which look set to call time on his second stint in Manchester. 

“You can’t sit here and defend that from Cristiano Ronaldo,” Ferdinand told Vibe with Five. “Deep down, I know for a fact, this has all been manufactured for one thing, and that’s for him to leave the club. This love affair between Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United is now over.

“I don’t think there’s any way back. I don’t think the club will take him back and I don’t think he wants to come back, I think that’s given. He wants to get out of this place. Up until this interview I could defend him and thought the club should have communicated with him better. But in a way Erik ten Hag has got what he wants and Cristiano Ronaldo will get what he wants. In this situation he’s done everything he can to get out of this club.”

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