Cristiano Ronaldo suffers from gastritis and will not be available in the friendly that the Portugal team plays this Thursday against Nigeria, the last preparation game before the World Cup in Qatar 2022.
The Portuguese coach, Fernando Santos, confirmed this Wednesday at a press conference the absence of the player, who will not be in training this afternoon either.
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“He has gastritis, he will not be for the game“He said in the Oeiras Football City, on the outskirts of Lisbon, where the “quinas” are concentrated before traveling to Qatar on Friday.
“It’s something that doesn’t help a lot, it leaves the players very touched. They remain very weak because they lose a lot of liquid. He won’t train this Wednesday for that reason, he is resting and recovering in the room,” he explained.
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Asked if the player really suffers from gastritis or is it an “excuse” for being absent, in the midst of the controversy raised by the interview given to the English journalist Piers Morgan, Santos responded with a laugh.
“If it were any other player, no one would ask him (…) It is not (an excuse), he has gastritis and he is not fit“, assured the selector.
No impact on selection
Santos also stated that Cristiano’s interview, in which he leaves harsh words towards Manchester United, it is a “personal” matter that has no impact on the national team.
“It’s a question that has nothing to do with us or the national team. The player, the man, decided to give an interview like many others have done. They are personal things and do not transfer to what the national team is“said the coach, who asked for “respect” for the Madeiran footballer.
He also assured that, in the concentration, “nobody” commented on the subject of the interview. “What interests me is what we talk about here, and we only talk about the Qatar operation. We have to understand his decision and respect it,” he insisted.
Before Santos, the central defender from Benfica António Silva, who at 19 years old has slipped into the squad for the World Cup, spoke to the media. Silva left praise for the Manchester United player: “I grew up watching Cristiano play, I don’t remember watching football without Cristiano. For me he’s a great example and I’m going to learn as much as I can from him.”
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Cristiano joined the Portugal squad last Monday and has participated in all training sessions ever since. Portugal plays this Thursday against Nigeria and on Friday it will travel to Qatar, where it will debut in the World Cup on Thursday 24 against Ghana. Uruguay and South Korea complete group H.
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EFE
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