Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva also misses out as injury troubles limit Roberto Martinez’s options
Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Portugal’s upcoming World Cup warm-up matches after failing to recover in time from a hamstring injury.
The 41-year-old captain picked up the issue while playing for Al Nassr in late February and has since been undergoing treatment in Madrid. Despite initial optimism, he has not regained full fitness and will sit out Portugal’s matches against Mexico and the US later this month.
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said Ronaldo was not in danger of a much longer absence with the World Cup so close.
“No, he’s not in danger,” said Martinez. “It’s a minor muscle injury, and we think he can be back in a week or two. Everything Cristiano has done physically this season shows that he’s in great shape.”
Ronaldo’s absence means he will not have the opportunity to play in the US for the first time since 2014, when he toured the country with Real Madrid. But Portugal are confident their talisman will be ready in time for the tournament, where they are scheduled to begin their campaign in Houston in June.
Martinez’s 27-man squad includes Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Paris Saint-Germain’s Vitinha and Joao Neves, and Al-Hilal’s Ruben Neves, but there is no place for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva. Instead, there was a first senior call-up for West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes, who has highly impressed despite the Hammers’ struggles for survival this season.
Without Ronaldo, Martinez recalled Real Sociedad’s Goncalo Guedes to the squad.
“Guedes is a versatile player,” Martínez said. “He has scored nine goals this season and is in excellent form. He’s a game-changing striker, a player who is of great interest to us.
“I’ve already said that for the World Cup, the centre forward position belongs to Cristiano and Goncalo Ramos, and we’re looking for a striker with a different profile.
“And he’s in a form that deserves a call-up. We’re very excited about what he could bring to the national team in these friendlies.”
