‘He is in the room, saying he wants to play!’: Cristiano Ronaldo is desperate to face Sweden, reveals Portugal boss Fernando Santos as Juventus star is forced to miss Nations League clash after testing positive for coronavirus
Portugal manager Fernando Santos has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo is desperate to play after being forced to sit out tonight’s clash against Sweden after testing positive for coronavirus.
It was announced on Tuesday that the Juventus star had tested positive for Covid-19 and had gone into isolation but was asymptomatic.
Ronaldo was pictured watching his Portugal team-mates train from the balcony of his room at the Oeiras base on the outskirts of Lisbon on Tuesday evening.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo is desperate to play
But the Juventus star is in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus on Tuesday
Ronaldo (bottom left) poses for a photo with his team-mates just hours before the news broke
Portugal manager Santos has provided an update on Ronaldo’s situation ahead of the UEFA Nations League tie on Wednesday evening.
‘No team can be better without the best player in the world but this team has already demonstrated that collectively it has the capacity to tackle the situation,’ he said.
‘He is managing the situation very well. He is in the room, saying he wants to play, he talks to us from upstairs [from his balcony].
Cristiano Ronaldo has his thumbs up as he watches his team-mates train on Tuesday evening
‘He is completely asymptomatic, he is OK, without any symptoms, he doesn’t even know what happened to him.’
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner played for Portugal against France in the Nations League and Spain in an international friendlies last week, meaning that he has come into recent contact with a host of football’s top stars.
During the game against France on Sunday night, Ronaldo was seen shaking hands and with a number of top stars including PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.
Ronaldo played all 90 minutes of the game at the Stade de France in Paris, which ended goalless.
Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez immediately posted a picture that appeared to show her on a FaceTime call with the player, calling him ‘my inspiration’
There is concern for his international team-mates after Ronaldo posed for a picture with them just hours before the news was announced, with the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star smiling for a selfie at dinner.
Ronaldo’s result prompted another round of tests for the rest of the squad, who all tested negative. The French squad has also tested negative.
Mere minutes after the announcement was made, Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez posted a picture to Instagram which appeared to show the Portugal superstar in good spirits during a FaceTime call with her.
Ronaldo puts an arm around Real Madrid and France defender Raphael Varane on Sunday
Alongside the snap, she wrote ‘You are my inspiration @Cristiano.’
Following their stalemate on Sunday Portugal remain top of Group A3 and although Santos knows Ronaldo will be missed, he has faith in his players.
He added: ‘Any player who is absent due to Covid-19 is a big loss, and Ronaldo’s absence is probably even greater [than anyone else’s].
‘But I have absolute confidence in those players who are going to play.’