MY ACCOUNT
Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the Manchester United team to face Tottenham on Saturday after missing the derby drubbing, but there was no Bruno Fernandes.
The absence of Ronaldo for last Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City sparked a fresh wave of speculation about the 37-year-old’s United future.
It was put down to a hip problem by interim manager Ralf Rangnick, but former United captain Roy Keane was among those who questioned whether that told the full story.
Ronaldo’s Manchester derby absence came after a run of one goal and zero assists in 10 games for United in all competitions this calendar year. That compares to 12 goals and three assists in his opening 19 games upon returning to United from Juventus at the end of August.
He was restored for the visit of Spurs, but Portuguese compatriot Fernandes was surprisingly not involved, three days before United tackle Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.
Rangnick said: “Bruno is ill, unfortunately. He couldn’t train yesterday and is therefore not available for the game. Hopefully, he will be back for Tuesday but, today, he is out.”
NFL legend Tom Brady, a friend of Tottenham striker Harry Kane, was at Old Trafford for the game.
There was a United start for Marcus Rashford, whose own future has been cast into doubt by reports suggesting he could seek a move at the end of the season. He replaced Anthony Elanga, while Edinson Cavani was named on the bench after recent fitness worries.
Goalkeeper David De Gea featured for the home side after a COVID-19 false positive, while Raphael Varane was back from a coronavirus absence to start alongside Harry Maguire in central defence.
Rangnick told MUTV: “We had a false positive test on David De Gea last night. We then decided to have a second test that was negative and then a PCR test that was negative again, and that’s why we can play him after all.”
