Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from Manchester United's Carrington training base on Saturday, sparking fears that he could miss Sunday's clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The 37-year-old, who has scored just three goals so far this season, missed Thursday night's Carabao Cup 4-2 win over Aston Villa through illness. It was the first time that the striker had been missing since being recalled to the squad after being banished for the 1-1 draw with Chelsea last month.
He had started each of the last four matches ahead of Thursday's cup tie, meaning he was always likely to be rested for the second clash with Villa in the space of just five days. However, illness, just as it did with Jadon Sancho, ruled him out of the squad completely.
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Issuing an update on Ronaldo after the win over Villa, manager Erik ten Hag said: "I can't guarantee that now [that he will return at Fulham] but he was ill today, he can recover from that. It's not a really serious illness that takes days or weeks, so I think it's possible he will be available for Sunday and in the squad."
Although, at the time of writing, there is still time for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has been included in the Portugal squad for the World Cup in Qatar, to prove his fitness and make the cut for the trip to the capital, he was not spotted arriving at Carrington on Saturday morning. He has started each of United's last two Premier League matches and sported the captain's armband in last Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Villa Park.
Despite that, he failed to have any sort of influence on the game. Anthony Martial earned his first start since recovering from a recent back injury in midweek and scored, meaning he is in line to spearhead the Reds' attack at Craven Cottage, regardless of Ronaldo's availability.
Martial is widely considered as United's first-choice striker under Ten Hag, despite being limited to opportunities so far this season because of injury problems. He has got four goals and claimed two assists in just six appearances this term.
Meanwhile, Antony and Jadon Sancho were spotted arriving at Carrington on Saturday morning, offering hope that they could be included for the trip to Craven Cottage after missing recent fixtures.
Confirmed list of players who reported to the training ground on Saturday:
David de Gea, Martin Dubravka, Tom Heaton, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Axel Tuanzebe, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Brandon Williams, Casemiro, Fred, Scott McTominay, Zidane Iqbal, Donny van de Beek, Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Facundo Pellistri, Alejandro Garnacho, Anthony Elanga, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Antony.
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