Man United double injury blow could mean Manchester derby start for Ronaldo

Erik ten Hag has a number of selection headaches he will need to deal with before this weekend’s Manchester Derby, with the Dutchman searching for his fourth consecutive win in the Premier League.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has started just one league game this season and made appearances off the bench in the other five, opened his account for the season in United’s last game, the Europa League game in Moldova.

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial have both been preferred to Ronaldo this season but now, Ten Hag’s plans have been thrown into doubt after it was reported that Rashford and Martial could both miss the derby.

That could offer Ronaldo a chance to win his place back, having been a permanent fixture in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick’s sides last season, scoring 24 goals in the process.

That’s according to The Telegraph, who argue that injuries to Rashford and Martial could mean that Ronaldo is in line for a first start for seven weeks.

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Ronaldo has featured in all eight of United’s games in all competitions this season but only three of them have been from the first whistle, with two coming in the Europa League.

Thus far, Ten Hag has made it clear that he prefers a more mobile option at the forefront of his attack and Ronaldo has done little to prove that he can fulfill that role.

SN’s verdict…
United players are still learning Ten Hag’s ‘laws’ on the pitch and that won’t come overnight. It must, however, be said that embryos of a promising identity can already be seen after a catastrophic start to the season.

There are real concerns over whether including Ronaldo in the side against City could seriously harm their chances of coming away from the game with anything.

United have a good record at the Etihad Stadium and they will be keen to keep that going but Ten Hag could also be inclined to start Anthony Elanga, who is usually not a striker.

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