Monday, March 7, 2022 at 07:45• Chris Meijer • Last update: 07:47

Cristiano Ronaldo took a plane to Portugal immediately after it became clear that he would miss the derby between Manchester City and Manchester United (4-1) due to an injury. The Athletic writes that this came as a surprise to his teammates. They felt that Ronaldo’s presence could have made a positive contribution to the Etihad Stadium.

In the course of Sunday it became clear that Ronaldo had to miss the game against Manchester City. The 37-year-old attacker – club top scorer at Manchester United with 15 goals in 30 games – was struggling with hip problems, an injury that left him out for a short time earlier this season. An attempt has been made to prepare Ronaldo with treatment for the visit to the Etihad Stadium, but a few hours before kick-off it became clear that Ronaldo would not make it to the game.

Ronaldo then immediately took the plane to Portugal and was therefore no longer in England when Manchester United suffered a major defeat against the fellow townsman. The Athletic writes citing sources that Ronaldo’s decision to leave for Portugal has caused surprise in the Manchester United dressing room, given the importance of the game. Injured players are not required to be present in the stadium. But Manchester United players would feel that Ronaldo’s presence ‘with his aura’ at the Etihad Stadium could have worked in their favor.

Before the match, Roy Keane speculated that there must be more to Ronaldo. “The man is a machine and hardly injured. Every now and then he is absent with this hip injury, which I find strange,” said the former midfielder. Ralf Rangnick, Manchester United’s interim manager, said the medical staff ‘believe’. “The doctor came to me on Friday to tell me that Cristiano couldn’t train, it was the same on Saturday.”