Cristiano Ronaldo absent as Manchester United players return to training for first time after COVID outbreak – Reports

Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the major absentees as Manchester United players returned to Carrington Training Complex for the first time since the COVID outbreak.

According to the Manchester Evening News, some of Manchester United’s players from the first team have returned to training today. Some key players are included in the list of returnees, including Marcus Rashford, David de Gea, Bruno Fernandes and Raphael Varane.

Manchester United had a major coronavirus outbreak in their squad which saw the suspension of first-team operations at their training facilities.

This also caused the postponement of two of United’s games, against Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion.

However, some notable absentees from the squad include Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba. It is so far unclear why the two aforementioned stars were absent from training today.

Other players not seen at training include Donny van de Beek, Jadon Sancho, Tom Heaton, Phil Jones, Dean Henderson and Diogo Dalot.

Manchester United are scheduled to take on Newcastle United in the Premier League on December 27, 2021. The Premier League has confirmed that the season will not be suspended due to the recent outbreak of coronavirus cases in various teams.

As things stand, Manchester United have only played 16 games in the Premier League while certain teams like Liverpool and Manchester City have already played 18.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty the last time Manchester United played in the Premier League

Manchester United last played in the Premier League on December 11 against Norwich City. In a tight-fought contest, the Red Devils secured all three points after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty in the 75th minute.

Ralf Rangnick’s side needed a few acrobatic saves from David de Gea to keep them in the game. However, Manchester United eventually came out on top after Ronaldo converted the spot-kick in the second half.

It is worth noting that the goal against Norwich City was Cristiano Ronaldo’s first goal under the management of Ralf Rangnick.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently Manchester United’s leading goalscorer this season. The 36-year-old forward has scored 13 goals in 18 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions.

Ronaldo has been more effective for Manchester United in the Champions League. The former Real Madrid and Juventus star netted six times in five group matches to seal the Red Devils’ safe passage into the knockout stages.

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