Cristiano Ronaldo may miss start of season at Man United after Sky update – pundit
Cristiano Ronaldo could miss the start of the 2022/23 season for Manchester United due to a lack of match fitness, according to Kevin Campbell.
The former Everton striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted off-pitch issues would not prevent the 37-year-old from playing for the Red Devils before the transfer window closes.
As reported by Sky Sports (15 July), Ronaldo is keen to leave Old Trafford in pursuit of Champions League football but his options for a move away are limited after Chelsea dropped their interest.
The Portugual international is not on the club’s pre-season tour of Australia after the club gave him additional time off to deal with a family issue.
With the transfer window open for three weeks after the start of the new Premier League season, Campbell insisted Ronaldo would remain professional and not try and force a move.
However, he did admit a lack of pre-season preparations could see him miss the club’s opening games.
Asked about the possibility of Ronaldo refusing to play, Campbell told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I don’t see that. He’s far too professional for that.
“I’m not surprised that he’s looking at what’s going on and he’s not happy. That’s one thing I’m not surprised at because he’s one of the greats of the game.
“He’s back at Manchester United and he’s back there to win. Now, last season was a really poor season for Manchester United. He doesn’t want to go through that again.
“He’s looking at it and he’s not seeing anybody coming through the door. So he’s definitely going to be looking at that and thinking: ‘I’m wasting my time here’.
“Are there going to be issues nearer the season? The only issue might be that he’s lacking a bit of game time and fitness. I don’t see the manager throwing him in just because he’s Ronaldo. The manager isn’t going to take a risk on him unless he is fully fit.
“If he does miss the first couple of games, it’s only because he lacks match fitness.”
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