Manchester United teammates ‘surprised’ by Cristiano Ronaldo’s conduct after picking up hip injury - Reports

Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates at Manchester United were left unimpressed by his conduct after missing out on the game against Manchester City due to an injury. The Red Devils fell to a 4-1 defeat against their city-rivals on Sunday.

According to The Athletic, the 37-year-old forward flew to his native Portugal instead of being with his teammates for their game at the Etihad Stadium. This decision surprised the other players at the club due to the magnitude of the game ahead of themselves.

As per the Mirror, Manchester United do not require injured players to stay with the first-team. However, the United squad believes Ronaldo's presence could have helped the team as he is one of the senior-most players at the club.

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick revealed that Ronaldo sustained a hip injury prior to their game against Man City. There are, however, no reports on how serious the injury is.

Here's what Rangnick said regarding Ronaldo's injury following the game at the Etihad Stadium:

"I have to believe our medical department. Our doctor came to me on Friday morning to say Cristiano couldn't train because of some problems with his hip flexor and the same on Saturday."

Manchester United will need the Portuguese's services when they face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on 12 March.

Their defeat to Manchester City, combined with Arsenal's win against Watford, has seen United slip out of the top four. The Red Devils are currently fifth in the standings with 47 points. The Gunners are a point ahead of United and have three games in hand.

Spurs also have three games in hand over Ralf Rangnick's side and are five points behind them.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled to score goals for Manchester United in 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently going through a barren run of form in front of goal. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored just once in his last 10 games for Manchester United across all competitions. That goal came against Brighton & Hove Albion in a 2-0 win back in February.

Despite his lack of goals in 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo remains United's leading goalscorer this season. The 37-year-old forward has found the net 15 times in 30 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions. However, only nine of those goals have come in the Premier League.

This shows United's lack of attacking prowess this season. Bruno Fernandes is the club's second-highest goalscorer with just nine goals this season.