Cristiano Ronaldo is ABSENT from Portugal training as Fernando Santos’ side prepare for their final group stage match against South Korea after confirming qualification with 2-0 win over Uruguay
Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from Portugal training on Wednesday two days before their final group stage match in Qatar.
A brace from Bruno Fernandes already confirmed Portugal’s qualification for the second round of the competition, and as a result Fernando Santos may look to rest some of his more important stars.
Reports suggest there is no physical issue with the former Manchester United forward, and that he is conducting individual training in the gym.
Cristiano Ronaldo was missing from Portugal’s training session ahead of South Korea clash
As such his absence is not thought to be a concern for his country, and the 37-year-old was not the only one to miss out on his country’s penultimate practice session before meeting South Korea on Friday.
Porto midfielder Otavio and PSG pair Danilo Pereira and Nuno Mendes similarly missed out, with the former going through recovery work and the latter duo still recovering from their own injuries.
The Euro 2016 champions made it through to the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup with a game to spare, following up a thrilling 3-2 victory over Ghana with the win against Uruguay on Monday.
Portugal ensured their qualification from the group stages with a game to spare
Although he contrived a dubious penalty against Ghana and scored from the spot to become the first male player to score in five different World Cups, there was a high-profile debate over whether he managed to add to his tally against Uruguay.
The forward claimed his country’s first goal of the night, after believing he had met a Fernandes cross in the air to head past Sergio Rochet, although it later transpired he had not made any contact.
A sensor inside adidas’s Al Rihla match ball confirmed that he failed to reach the ball, and the goal was attributed to Fernandes, who claimed his second from 12 yards in injury time.
Adidas technology inside their Al Rihla ball shows that Ronaldo did not get a touch on the cross
‘In the match between Portugal and Uruguay, using the Connected Ball Technology housed in adidas’s Al Rihla Official Match Ball, we are able to definitively show no contact on the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo for the opening goal in the game,’ read an official statement from Adidas.
‘No external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in our measurements and in the attached graphic.
‘The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows us to be highly accurate in our analysis.’
Ronaldo wheeled away in celebration with his arm raised, celebrating scoring the opener
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