Blow for Man Utd as injury rules Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Manchester derby
This Sunday will see Manchester United make the short trip across town to take on Manchester City in the Premier League, but Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be taking part. According to local reports, the No.7 has an injury and hasn’t been included in Ralf Rangnick’s squad for the Manchester derby.
The players who’ll be involved for Manchester United gathered at The Lowry Hotel, but Ronaldo wasn’t among that group. Edinson Cavani, Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane were also reportedly missing and, therefore, likely to sit out the derby too.
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This leaves the Red Devils with Marcus Rashford as the only natural centre-forward for the trip to take on Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad.
Ronaldo has been Manchester United’s top scorer in the 2021/22 season, with 15 goals in his 30 appearances in all competitions since his summer return. This will be just the fifth game that Ronaldo will miss this season, after injury ruled him out against Aston Villa twice and after he was rested for the League Cup loss to West Ham and the final Champions League group game against Young Boys. He has been a near-permanent starter this season, even though he turned 37 in February.
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The Manchester United squad for the derby
According to the local media, there are 21 players confirmed to be in Rangnick’s squad for this Sunday’s derby against City. They are: David de Gea, Dean Henderson, Tom Heaton, Diogo Dalot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Phil Jones, Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Alex Telles, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Fred, Paul Pogba, Hannibal Mejbri, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Marcus Rashford.
Rangnick will have to come up with a last-minute solution in his attack. The Ronaldo injury has come as a surprise, while the German had also hoped to have Cavani available, but that hasn’t ultimately been possible.
