Erik ten Hag could be forced to abandon Cristiano Ronaldo plan after new setback

Cristiano Ronaldo could be thrust back to the forefront of Manchester United's plans - just weeks after Erik ten Hag's plan to hand the Portuguese superstar a diminished role emerged.

Ronaldo quickly re-established himself as the club's talisman following his return to Old Trafford last summer, but his second stint at United has soured in the wake of last year's calamitous Premier League campaign.

United's failure to qualify for the Champions League led to Ronaldo trying to engineer an early exit this summer - but a move failed to materialise. And the 37-year-old has found himself on the bench in the opening weeks of the season after missing United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.

Although Manchester United failed to sign an orthodox striker this summer, Marcus Rashford has thrived in the No.9 role in recent weeks, while Ten Hag has brought Anthony Martial back into the fold after the Frenchman impressed during pre-season.

Rashford's resurgence, coupled with Martial's return from Sevilla, had led to Ten Hag hinting that Ronaldo would have to get used to a supporting role this season after last month's win over Leicester City.

"As we said that," Ten Hag said when quizzed over Ronaldo's future. "It's really early in the season and we have a squad. We have more than 11 starting players, that is what you see now, players now on the bench can play in one, two or three weeks."

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But with Rashford and Martial being left out of the squad for Thursday night's Europa League meeting with Sheriff Tiraspol, Ronaldo is likely to get another chance to impress Ten Hag just one week after his lacklustre showing against Real Sociedad.

Ronaldo was likely to start Thursday night's match regardless of Rashford and Martial's fitness, but if the duo are set to be absent for a longer period, Ten Hag will have little choice but to turn to Ronaldo - particularly as both have been plagued by injury issues in the past.

After missing pre-season under Ten Hag, Ronaldo has edged his way back into the fold in recent weeks after failing to secure a move away in the transfer window. The striker has been in good spirits this week and shared a social media snap of Diogo Dalot and Casemiro in training that was captioned: "Starting the week with a good feeling."