After liking a post on Instagram, Cristiano Ronaldo's sister has fueled speculation that the attacker is not injured and missed the Manchester derby for various reasons.
Ronaldo was absent from Manchester United's 4-1 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, according to interim head coach Ralf Rangnick, who claimed the Portuguese had "hip flexor difficulties."
Katia Aveiro, Ronaldo's sister, seemed to query the 37-year-absence old's before the match, liking an Instagram post claiming Ronaldo was not injured and had been dropped by Rangnick.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is not injured and he is not ill," said the post, which was shared by a popular Ronaldo fan account. He's a hundred percent.
"Good morning to those of you who, like me, are upset and angry because Rangnick decided to spoil our Sunday by removing CR7 from the Manchester City derby for tactical reasons, allowing him to defend himself better in the game."
United's defeat at the Etihad was only the club's second Premier League match since Ronaldo returned from Juventus last summer.
Former United captain Roy Keane noted before the game that "something doesn't add up" about Ronaldo's absence from the squad.
Ronaldo's sister liked an Instagram post claiming that he is uninjured (Image: Instagram)
"When a manager comes out and talks about a hip flexor, it looks like there's more to the Ronaldo tale," Keane told Sky Sports.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about. We talk about Ronaldo being a machine who only gets injured on rare occasions, but every now and then he comes out with... a hip flexor?
"To me, that doesn't add up."
Meanwhile, according to The Sun, United's players were taken aback when Ronaldo failed to show up for their pre-match meeting at The Lowry hotel on the eve of the derby.
City crushed United at the Etihad on Sunday (Image: PA)
Members of United's squad felt a player as senior as Ronaldo should have joined them for support ahead of such an important encounter, according to the article.
City ran out comfortable winners at the Etihad Stadium, with Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both scoring twice, with Keane afterwards labelling United's second-half performance as "shameful."
United are now in fifth place, one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal, despite having played three games more than the Gunners.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0