Portugal vs Nigeria: He is resting, won’t play – Coach Santos gives update on Ronaldo

Portugal boss, Fernando Santos has said that Cristiano Ronaldo will not play against Nigeria in their warm-up match on Thursday.

According to him, the 37-year-old is resting and will not be available after the Manchester United striker missed a training session on Wednesday.

“He will not be ready for tomorrow [a friendly against Nigeria],” Santos told reporters.

“He’s losing a lot of liquid, he’s suffering from gastroenteritis and he isn’t training.

“He’s in his room resting and recovering, I’m 100 percent sure he won’t be available.”

After playing Nigeria on Thursday, Portugal will open their World Cup in Qatar with their first game against Ghana a week later.

Before departing to Portugal’s training camp for the World Cup, the 37-year-old superstar had missed Manchester United’s 4-2 win over Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup and their 2-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League.

Former Real Madrid and Juventus star has also been in the news after he granted an explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he criticised Manchester United’s owners, their hierarchy, the club’s manager, Erik ten Hag and his teammates.