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Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from Manchester United’s horrific derby defeat to Manchester City on Sunday has reportedly left his team-mates ‘shocked’.
The Portuguese superstar missed the Manchester derby with a hip flexor injury, and the Red Devils were crushed by their fierce rivals.
It was an embarrassing performance by Ralf Rangnick’s side, as the German admitted after the match that he had no idea when Ronaldo would return from the bench.
The fact that Ronaldo was not at the Etihad Stadium was unusual despite his injury, while non-playing team members were usually seen in the stands.
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According to The Athletic, Ronaldo flew to his native Portugal after it became clear that he would not be able to participate in the derby.
It is claimed that he reported a ‘recurrence’ of the hip problem that forced him to miss games earlier this season.
After treatment failed to ‘calm’ the injury, Ronaldo opted to fly back to Portugal in the days leading up to Sunday.
But Ronaldo’s decision to return to his homeland took the United dressing room by surprise, leaving his teammates ‘surprised’ by his absence.
Should Cristiano Ronaldo have attended the Manchester derby despite his injury? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments section…
United fell to a dismal defeat to Manchester City (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Some of his teammates are said to have felt that his presence in the stadium would have been welcome, given his ‘aura and contributions’ so far this season.
Ronaldo may well argue that the warm weather in his home country will be beneficial to his recovery.
But Rangnick admitted he doesn’t know if the Portuguese superstar will be fit for Saturday’s visit to Tottenham.
“I have to believe our medical department,” he said.
Ralf Rangnick admitted he wasn’t sure when Ronaldo would be fit again
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“Our doctor came to see me on Friday morning to tell me that Cristiano couldn’t train due to problems with his hip flexor and the same thing on Saturday”.
However, United legend Roy Keane believes there was more to Ronaldo’s absence than meets the eye.
“There seems to be something else with the Ronaldo situation,” Keane said before the derby.
“The manager came out talking about his hip flexor, but the guy is a machine and he rarely gets injured. From time to time he comes out with that of his hip flexor, it doesn’t add up to me”.
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