Cristiano Ronaldo's decision to fly to Portugal rather than stay in Manchester to support the team for their match against Manchester City allegedly stunned Manchester United's locker room.
The 37-year-old was ruled out of Sunday's Manchester derby due to a hip flexor injury, and according to The Athletic, Ronaldo traveled back to his hometown on Sunday before kick-off at The Etihad stadium.
According to the report, some of the United squad were taken aback and felt his participation in the matchday squad would have been useful.United were swept aside by City, the Premier League's leaders, without Ronaldo in a ruthless display by Pep Guardiola's side.
City won all three points thanks to two goals each from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez. In the first half, United equalized through Jacho, but that was the closest they came to putting a glove on their opponents.
United will play Tottenham Hotspur in a late Saturday kick-off before the return Champions League leg against Atletico Madrid. It means Ronaldo will have a week to get back into shape and recover from an injury that has already affected him this season.
Roy Keane, a Sky Sports pundit, was irritated by his former United team-absence mate's from the City match due to the problem.'There appears to be something more to Ronaldo's absence on Sky Sports,' he remarked when asked if there was more to his absence.
'I just don't understand why the manager (Ralf Rangnick) keeps talking about this hip flexor.'
'We speak about Ronaldo being a machine; he's rarely injured, but every now and then he'll come out with something that indicates hip flexor.' To me, it doesn't add up.'
United is now in fifth place in the Premier League, a point behind fourth-placed Arsenal.The Gunners, on the other hand, have three games in hand on United and a real chance to clinch a place in the Champions League in the coming weeks.
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