Martial Injury Blow: Erik Ten Hag  May Feature Ronaldo In Man United’s League Opener

Anthony Martial is set to miss Man Utd’s Premier League opener due to a hamstring injury leaving Erik ten Hag with a big decision to make regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s involvement

According to Mirror, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is facing a late rethink over Cristiano Ronaldo’s involvement in their Premier League opener after an injury to Anthony Martial.

Ronaldo, who is pushing to leave the Red Devils this summer, has barely featured in pre-season after missing their tour of Asia and Australia for family reasons.

As a result, Hag that Martial would lead the line against Brighton this Sunday alongside Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.

But Martial is now set to miss the opening game with a minor hamstring problem, according to UK Media

He was holding his leg as he left the pitch against Atletico Madrid in Oslo and now faces further tests to determine when he will return.

It is claimed the Frenchman, who starred in pre-season with several goals after returning from a loan spell at Sevilla, is hoping to return for the trip to Brentford on August 13 but may not feature until they face Liverpool  on August 22.

His absence gives  Hag a major decision to make regarding Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar would be the obvious choice to lead the line but Rashford can also play as a central striker with Anthony Elanga waiting in the wings to fill his role out wide.

Ronaldo was also amongst a number of players criticised by Ten Hag this week for leaving Old Trafford before full time  in their pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallencano at the weekend.  

In an interview with Dutch media, Ten Hag branded their actions “unacceptable”.

The interviewer asked Ten Hag: “At the beginning of the conversation, we talked about how important it is for you to have players arrive on time and your attention to details. But Cristiano seems to arrive and leave whenever he wants, how do you manage that?”