Cristiano Ronaldo hides horror black eye behind sunglasses as star arrives for Man Utd training ahead of huge City clash
CRISTIANO RONALDO gave a thumbs up as he arrived for training while hiding his swollen black eye ahead of the Manchester derby.
The 37-year-old legend suffered the blow and a cut to the face during Portugal’s recent victory over Czech Republic.
Ronaldo collided with the leaping opposition keeper Tomas Vaclik, whose arms smashed into the forward’s face, leaving him on a heap on the floor.
Blood was soon pouring out of Ronaldo's nose while he sat stunned on the turf.
Fortunately for the ace he was patched up by Portugal’s medical team and returned to the pitch to help his nation seal a 4-0 win despite the drama.
He was in action on Tuesday too as his country were beaten 1-0 by Spain, a result that meant La Roja pipped them to qualify for the final four.
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The ex-Real Madrid and Juventus ace’s sister Katia Aveiro then leapt to his defence after he was slammed by Portugal fans after that setback.
However, Ronaldo was quick to give an indication this morning that his traumatic week has had no effect on him as he gave the cameras a thumbs-up on arrival at the club’s Carrington training base.
But he was not as fast in showing off his battle scars, as he wore dark shades to cover his eyes while behind the wheel.
Ronaldo and the rest of the United squad are putting the finishing touches to their preparations for Sunday’s huge clash with local rivals and reigning champions Man City at the Etihad.
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The veteran has been largely consigned to the substitutes bench this season following his controversial summer.
After failing to secure a move away from Old Trafford, Ronaldo returned late to pre-season training.
That led to him being benched for the opening day defeat to Brighton.
He returned to the starting XI the following week, but he and his teammates were left humiliated as they were thrashed 4-0 at Brentford.
The veteran was then pushed back to the bench, and that coincided with United going on a four-game winning run in the top-flight.
He did, however, get another opportunity in the Europa League but he drew a blank as the Red Devils were beaten at home by Real Sociedad.
But a week later the superstar was celebrating as he finally got off the mark for the season by in the same competition.
That was United’s last outing before the international break, and now he will be sweating on whether he has done enough to earn a spot in Ten Hag’s side to take on City - although in-form Marcus Rashford is winning his fitness battle to make the bumper showdown.