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Cristiano Ronaldo caused a stir in the Manchester United dressing room by jetting off to Portugal after he was ruled out of facing Manchester City.

The Portuguese striker, 37, sustained a hip complaint late last week and played no part in United's 4-1 defeat at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.

"Cristiano had some problems with his hip flexor on Friday and since then, he didn't train," interim manager Ralf Rangnick said ahead of kick-off.

Ronaldo is the Red Devils' top scorer this season with 15 goals in all competitions, so his absence came as a major blow.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has talismanic status on account of his record-breaking career and he is a senior figure in the squad.

But Ronaldo was conspicuous in his absence at the weekend and did not make the short trip across town to attend the match.

Instead, The Athletic claims he flew to his native Portugal in a move which surprised his teammates given the magnitude of the fixture.

While United do not require their injured players to attend matches, the report adds Ronaldo's colleagues felt they would have benefited from his presence given the high regard he is held in.

They will hope he recovers from the hip issue - which also ruled him out of January's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa - in time for the visit of Tottenham on Saturday evening.

Rangnick did not provide a timescale for