Dutch coach Ten Hag warned Manchester United manager Ronaldo and his colleagues against complacency in tomorrow’s match against Fulham in the English Premier League on the pretext of injury fears days before the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Manchester United hosts Fulham on Sunday in the English Premier League before competition officially ends in time for next week’s World Cup.
Ronaldo, 37, missed his side’s League Cup win against Aston Villa last Thursday due to illness, just hours after his name was announced on his country’s squad in Qatar.
And British newspaper The Sun reported that Ten Hag expects Ronaldo to recover in time for Manchester United’s last game before the World Cup international break against Fulham on Sunday.
And an English newspaper report added that Tin Haeg wants all of his players to focus fully on the next match, rather than thinking about joining their national teams after hours and playing in the most important tournament in the world next week.
Asked if Ronaldo would be ready, Ten Hag said: “I can’t guarantee that after he misses the Aston Villa game he will be able to recover from it. It’s not a serious illness that lasts days or weeks and I think it could be available against Fulham.
The Dutch manager added: “I think all the players understand the importance of the Fulham match and I will not take the World Cup into account and until Sunday everyone should focus only on the interests of Manchester United.
“I think he is ready, yes, I see him every day in training and in matches, he has recovered from injury, but he is ready to perform at the highest level,” Ten Hag said of Maguire.
Maguire has joined England’s World Cup squad to face the United States of America, Iran and Wales in Group B of Qatar.