ERIK TEN HAG has warned Cristiano Ronaldo and his Manchester United team-mates he will not accept the World Cup as an excuse this weekend.
The Portuguese legend, 37, missed the Carabao Cup win over Aston Villa on Thursday night due to illness – just hours after his national team announced their squad for Qatar.
His club manager expects him to have recovered in time for the final United fixture before the break – the trip to Fulham on Sunday.
Ten Hag wants all his players to be fully focused on Craven Cottage rather than linking up with their national teams hours later.
Asked if Ronaldo will be ready, Ten Hag said: “I can’t guarantee that now and he was ill for the Aston Villa game.