Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Manchester United training ahead of Sheriff clash after first-team exile
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 25/10/2022 at 14:50 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to first-team training with Manchester United following his exile from the squad last week. The Portuguese striker was dropped for Saturday's clash against Chelsea and ordered to train alone after refusing to come on in a win over Tottenham, before walking down the tunnel early. Ronaldo could feature against managerless Sheriff in the Europa League on Thursday.
“Right culture” - ten Hag happy with Chelsea draw amid dropping Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-team exile is over after the Manchester United striker returned to training on Tuesday.
The Portugal captain was disciplined by manager Erik ten Hag after refusing to come on as a late substitute in last week’s Premier League win over Tottenham.
Ronaldo also walked down the tunnel before the end of the game in an incident that overshadowed one of the best performances of the season from Ten Hag’s side.
The Dutch manager dropped Ronaldo from his squad for Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea and made him train alone, but the 37-year-old has now returned ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with Sheriff.
Sky Sports News reports that there has been regular contact between Ten Hag and Ronaldo, but no “showdown talks” were held on Tuesday.
Ronaldo’s histrionics led to a fresh batch of speculation over his future, including rumours of a return to Italy or a January move to Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Ten Hag’s options have been further bolstered by the return to training of Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Donny van de Beek following their injuries.
Maguire has been out since last month after picking up a thigh injury while on international duty with England, while Van de Beek and Wan-Bissaka haven’t featured since August.
However, there are still concerns over the fitness of Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial.
United lie second and in a strong position to qualify from their Europa League Group E, three points behind leaders Real Sociedad and six ahead of third-placed Sheriff with two games to go.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article