Ronaldo to miss Ten Hag audition as injury rules him out of Man Utd finale

The 37-year-old has sustained a knock which will keep him out of Manchester United’s trip to Crystal Palace for the final game of what has been an incredibly miserable campaign

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Rangnick hopes to finally meet new Man Utd boss ten Hag

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly been ruled out of Manchester United’s last game of the season away at Crystal Palace with a hip flexor injury.

United know that anything less than a win could see seventh-placed West Ham leapfrog them into sixth should the Hammers beat Brighton at the Amex. If David Moyes’ side could get one over on his former club, it would see United drop into the Europa Conference League – a damning indictment of how poor this campaign has been for the club.

According to The Athletic, Ronaldo has already played his last match of the season for United and will not be present at Selhurst Park due to the knock. In turn, it means he will not play under the watchful eye of incoming manager Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman has already touched down in London to begin his preparations for life at the United helm and will watch his future players in action properly for the first time on Sunday afternoon. Ten Hag will not be on the touchline however, as Ralf Rangnick will remain in the hot-seat until his interim reign concludes following the full-time whistle.

This is not the first time Ronaldo has been ruled out of a game due to a hip flexor injury this term, but despite this, the Portugal skipper has still enjoyed an impressive individual campaign. He has notched 18 goals in 30 Premier League outings, ending the season as the club’s top scorer.

In the initial aftermath of Ten Hag’s appointment, some question whether the ex-Ajax manager would view a player of Ronaldo’s style as someone he would look to centre his plans around. Any talk of a potential exit for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner have been seemingly quashed as both Ronaldo and Ten Hag have since spoken highly of each other publicly.

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Ten Hag dubbed a Ronaldo a “giant” of the game and admitted: “I can’t wait to work with him”, while United’s iconic number seven also admitted he was eager to work with the incoming boss but insisted that the manager is going to need time to work and implement his footballing philosophy.

“What I know about him is he did a fantastic job for Ajax, that he’s an experienced coach,” Ronaldo told United’s in-house media. “But we need to give him time. Things need to change the way he wants.”

Paul Pogba is also expected to sit out the game against the Eagles, meaning the divisive midfielder has probably played his final game for United given his contract expires in a mere matter of weeks. A return to Juventus, where he spent four years between his two stints at United, seems the most likely destination.