Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Portugal training early ahead of Denmark match

Cristiano Ronaldo did not train with Portugal’s squad on Tuesday and left the session early, raising questions over his availability for Thursday’s Nations League match against Denmark.

Portugal returned to training after a day off following their 2-1 victory over Norway. The team’s next Nations League fixture is against Denmark on Thursday.

According to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Ronaldo was not the only player absent from group training. Joao Felix, who has scored twice in Portugal’s past two matches, also did not take part.

Francisco Conceicao was another absentee after undergoing medical examinations on Tuesday morning. The tests were intended to rule out the possibility that he would have to leave Portugal’s training camp.

Ronaldo’s involvement was initially unclear because he was not seen during the first 15 minutes of the session, when the media were permitted to attend. A Bola later reported that the Portugal captain had left the training ground and returned to the team hotel.

The newspaper said Ronaldo arrived on the pitch 30 minutes before the scheduled start of training, but did not join his team-mates for the session. He subsequently left Eleda Stadium, the home ground of Malmo, while the rest of Portugal’s players continued training.

Ronaldo instead returned to the hotel to complete specific exercises in the gym.

The Portuguese Football Federation told A Bola, according to the newspaper, that the Malmo stadium did not have a particular piece of sporting equipment required for Ronaldo’s training programme that day.

No further details were given about whether Ronaldo’s absence from the group session would affect his participation against Denmark.