Somtochukwu

Juventus star Ronaldo, who sat out the encounter with a toe infection, was present in the stands as Portugal thumped World Cup runners-up Croatia 4-1 in Porto, with Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo scoring a stunner for the hosts.

But whether you’re one of the world’s greatest players or not, you still have to abide by the current rules and the 35-year-old looked somewhat surprised when a health official approached him, but he duly obliged and wore the mask provided.

Ronaldo picked up an infection on his right toe and is set to miss Tuesday’s match against Sweden too, with manager Fernando Santos unconvinced that he will be ‘100 per cent OK’ to play.

Speaking to reporters before Saturday’s win against Croatia, Santos said: ‘I am very doubtful that he will be 100 per cent OK.

‘He had been training well, then suddenly on Wednesday one of his toes was red, as if he’d been stung by a bee.

‘Now we have to wait. With an infection, you don’t know how long the recovery is going to take.’

Missing both games would cause great frustration for Ronaldo as he continues to stay patient in a bid to reach 100 international goals.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ronaldo has been stuck on 99 goals for 10 months and this international break on the eve of the new season has provided him with the first opportunity to tally up a century of strikes for Portugal.

His 99th goal came against Luxembourg in a 2-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win on November 17.

Portugal won the Nations League last year with Ronaldo playing a starring role, hitting a hat-trick in the semi-final, and so his absence to start their Nations League defence is a major disappointment for Santos – though the Portuguese did not miss him on Saturday night.

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