Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will miss his national team’s pre-World Cup warm-up game against Nigeria on Thursday after picking up a stomach bug.
“Ronaldo has a gastritis and did not train today in order to recover and rest,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos announced on Wednesday. “It’s a condition that doesn’t help much, as it affects the players a lot, they lose a lot of liquid, they weaken. He won’t be ready for tomorrow, for sure.”
The 37-year-old player also missed out on Portugal’s training session on Wednesday as a result of this bug. While Santos was asked by a reporter if Ronaldo was indeed ill or if his absence was a result of his interview with Piers Morgan earlier this week, Santos confirmed that he is genuinely ill, adding that Ronaldo is “in no condition to play.”
During his interview, Ronaldo criticized what he considered to be a lack of change at Manchester United since the departure of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, adding that he has no respect for current manager Erik ten Hag. Santos assured that he respects Ronaldo’s opinion and that this interview will have no effect on the national team going into the World Cup.
