Cristiano Ronaldo will meet with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, and the forward may return to first-team training.
Erik ten Hag will meet with Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday before welcoming the forward back into Manchester United’s first-team training.
The two men will meet for the first time since Ronaldo was dropped from the squad at the weekend, but United manager Jose Mourinho is eager to find common ground and believes the striker still has a role in his squad.
Ronaldo missed the weekend’s draw with Chelsea after being told he wouldn’t be in the squad as punishment for refusing to come on as a late substitute against Tottenham in midweek.
The 37-year-old walked down the tunnel in the final minute of the game and left Old Trafford before his teammates had returned to the dressing room.
He was told last Thursday he was being dropped from the squad to face Chelsea and was ordered to train away from the rest of the first team for the rest of the week.
United earned a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge without Ronaldo, with his former Real Madrid teammate Casemiro heading in a dramatic 94th-minute equalizer.
Ten Hag gave the squad two days off after that game and they will only return to Carrington on Tuesday to begin preparations for the Europa League fixture against FC Sheriff at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Ronaldo could make his return to a matchday squad in that fixture but he will need to convince Ten Hag he is committed to the project and willing to meet his requirements.
“We will first talk,” Ten Hag said when asked about Ronaldo’s return on Friday. “We set certain standards. That is for any player.
“I think everyone understands that both [actions] are not acceptable so I don’t want to grade it [which is worse]. Both are not acceptable and that is why he gets some days off. He has to live, like anyone else, along certain standards and the standards we set this season.”
Ronaldo took to Instagram last Thursday evening to explain his actions and posted a message in support of his teammates on the day of the Chelsea game
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