Injury expert can’t believe what he’s hearing about Ronaldo at Man United
Cristiano Ronaldo does need to cover huge distances to be effective for Man United.
So says injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Legendary striker Ronaldo, 36, has netted six times in 10 appearances since his dramatic return to Old Trafford in the summer.
Football Insider pundit Alan Hutton claimed on 26 October that Ronaldo is among those “not working hard” when United attempt to press high.
It is a view that has been echoed many times over in certain sections of the commentariat.
But claims that Ronaldo’s lack of running is detrimental to the team are nonsense, insists Dinnery.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: “One of the narratives that is floating around the media concerns his distance covered.
“United are not covering as much distance as some of their closest rivals. But I take those distance-covered metrics with a pinch of salt, to be honest.
“It’s all well and good talking about players running 12 or 13km during a game, but referees run these distances too.
“If you were a runner and you’d done 12km in 90 minutes, would you be happy with that? Of course, you wouldn’t.
“It’s about those high-intensity sprints, those runs in zone four and zone five. He is a very, very clever player, Ronaldo.
“If you want a runner, he’s not your man. But if you want somebody who is going to score goals and be a threat in and around that box, you’d pick him.
“So I’m not buying this narrative. Do I want Ronaldo chasing back 60, 70, 80 yards just because it looks good on a piece of paper?“
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