Cristiano Ronaldo suffers World Cup scare as Portugal star forced to pull out of training

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to miss training with Portugal just days before the start of the World Cup as the fallout surrounding his controversial interview with Piers Morgan continues

Cristiano Ronaldo has suffered a major World Cup scare after he was forced to pull out of Portugal’s training session just days before the start of the tournament.

The Manchester United forward is said to be suffering with a stomach bug and will be forced to sit out Wednesday night’s training session.

Ronaldo has made headlines this week due to his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, but he is currently in Qatar with the rest of the Portugal national team ahead of the World Cup, which is due to start on Sunday.

Portugal are due to face Nigeria in a warm-up game on Thursday, but it now remains to be seen if Ronaldo will be able to feature.

Fernando Santos’ side begin their Group H campaign next Thursday against Ghana before facing Uruguay and South Korea for a spot in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Ronaldo’s absence comes on the same night that the first half of his explosive sitdown interview with Morgan is due to be aired on TalkTV.

Several clips from the 90 minute interview – which was not sanctioned by Manchester United – have already gone viral in recent days. Already, the 37-year-old has claimed that he feels “betrayed” by the club before insisting that he does not have “respect” for Erik ten Hag.

Ronaldo has also been critical of his former Old Trafford teammates Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, while he took aim at the club’s unpopular owners, the Glazer family, in one of the latest clips that was shared ahead of the interview’s full release across Wednesday and Thursday.

Ronaldo’s sickness caps a tumultuous few days for the veteran forward, who has been involved in awkward exchanges with international teammates Bruno Fernandes and Joao Cancelo.

Fernandes appeared to snub his Manchester United colleague Ronaldo in a clip that quickly went viral earlier this week. Fernandes has since downplayed the incident.

Although talk of a rift between the two has now been cooled, Mirror Football understands that Ronaldo’s other Old Trafford teammates do not want him to return to the club following the World Cup.

It is believed that their stance is backed by Ten Hag, who has informed that Manchester United hierarchy that there is ‘no way’ that Ronaldo can play for him again following his latest misdemeanour.