Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was not with the squad and is a huge doubt to face Leicester City
According to Samuel Luckhurst on Twitter (h/t Express), Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo was not with the squad to take on Leicester City in the Premier League, making him a major doubt for the game tonight.
The league resumes once again from tonight after the international break put the PL on hold, while players jetted off to represent their nations. While some national teams fought to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, others played friendly games as they warmed up for the big event later this year.
United are back in action against the Foxes at Old Trafford, looking to continue their push up the league table as they aim to finish strongly in the top four and qualify for Champions League football next season.
The last PL fixture played by the Red Devils was against fellow top-four contenders Tottenham Hotspur, as the north London club were beaten 3-2 in Manchester in what was a crucial win for Ralf Rangnick’s men to close down the gap to fourth place. Spurs currently sit one point above United, in fifth place.
Ronaldo major doubt for Foxes clash
Ronaldo was the star of the show in the game against the Lilywhites, with the Portuguese superstar scoring a hat-trick for his side. It was his first treble since returning to England last summer, having departed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2009.
However, he may not be available to repeat his heroics against Leicester tonight, as the ex-Juventus was not spotted in the 21-man squad that was assembled before the game. The squad included three goalies, however, to supposedly make up for the numbers with Ronaldo said to be missing.
The Portugal skipper was last seen playing for his country as they qualified for the World Cup earlier in the week, as his club teammate Bruno Fernandes scored a brace against North Macedonia to seal their spot in the competition later this year.
Although he did not score, he played every single minute of Portugal’s matches over the last two weeks and did not show any injury concerns. Even at United interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s pre-match press conference last night, the German did not talk about any injuries to Ronaldo.
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With Edinson Cavani ruled out of the game, and Marcus Rashford out for form, the onus would have been on Ronaldo to supply the goals for the team. However, with the 37-year-old missing from the squad, it now looks like Rashford will need to step up to lead the line for his boyhood club against the Foxes.
A win is crucial against tonight as we chase the fourth spot in the league table and Leicester are no pushovers. We will need to be at our best to get past Brendan Rodgers’ men, and possibly without Ronaldo, that task seems a little harder.
