Cristiano Ronaldo must accept that he is no longer the same undroppable he was last season, but with no chance of a move until January at the earliest, he must bite his tongue for the time being and focus on club commitments before a chance of escapism with Portugal at the World Cup.
The dilemma for Erik ten Hag now is whether he should bring the Portuguese striker back into the squad, and possibly even the starting line-up, for the game against FC Sheriff tomorrow night.
Ronaldo’s reintegration into United training on Tuesday was granted on the condition that he accept responsibility for his actions, and now that he is allowed to train with the first team, surely the precedent is set for him to play with them as well.
The United manager may have wanted to ease Ronaldo back in gradually, but with a striker shortage, he may not have any other viable options against Sheriff.
There is extra mitigation to give Ronaldo a chance too, given that the nature of the match against Moldovan opposition is an opportunity to give fringe players a chance, and in the case of the Portuguese forward, give him the limelight and a chance to boost confidence that could benefit United in the long run.
Throwing him back into the line-up on Thursday night suddenly puts all of the pressure on Ronaldo again, and for a match they are expected to comfortably win, the focus will be on whether or not the Portuguese star is really up to the challenge.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
