Roy Keane questions reason why Cristiano Ronaldo missed Man Utd's clash vs Man City

Roy Keane has questioned the legitimacy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s hip injury after the 37-year-old was ruled out of Manchester United’s derby against Manchester City.

Ronaldo was not seen with the rest of his United teammates at their hotel on Saturday evening, prompting speculation that he would miss Sunday’s fixture at the Etihad Stadium.

After revealing his matchday squad without Ronaldo, United manager Ralf Rangnick confirmed that the forward is absent due to a hip flexor injury.

Ronaldo also missed two games for United in January due to the same problem.

‘Cristiano had some problems with his hip flexor on Friday and since then he didn’t train,’ Rangnick told MUTV before the game.

But former United captain Keane has suggested that Ronaldo may have been left out of the squad for different reasons.

‘I think the surprise there is Ronaldo, I’m just never sure when they come out and say hip flexor,’ Keane told Sky Sports.

Asked if he thought there is more to Ronaldo’s absence, Keane replied: ‘There seems to be.

‘I just don’t like it when the manager talks about hip flexors.

‘I don’t get it. We talk about Ronaldo being almost some sort of machine, he’s very rarely injured.

‘But every now and again he [Rangnick] comes out with that… hip flexor, it doesn’t add up to me.’

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