Manchester United coach Erik Ten Hag confirmed at a press conference that the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad for the League Cup match against Aston Villa was due to "illness".

In any case, the Dutch coach did not seem to be overly concerned by his sickness.

"He will not be available," said the coach before the match that United won 4-2 against Unai Emery's team on Thursday.

"I don't know when he'll be ready again, but I'm not worried."

🙌 The boss. #MUFC || #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/1F5mkoav8x

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 11, 2022

Close to the World Cup

Journalists questioned Ten Hag on if the proximity of the World Cup, which kicks off only 10 days later,  had anything to do with his absence.

"Nothing like that, he's sick and that's why he's not playing," the coach insisted.

Portugal squad

Cristiano Ronaldo heads the list of players that Portugal will take to the World Cup in Qatar, which will be the fifth and possibly last in the Portuguese star's career.

Uma vez mais, prontos para elevar bem alto o nome de Portugal! São 26 os nomes na lista do Mister Fernando Santos, mas estamos todos convocados! Força Portugal!💪🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/ZYrmIs4deq

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 10, 2022

The Portuguese squad will play in Group H along with Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.

Portugal's opener will be against the Africans on November 24, then they will face La Garra Charrua on November 28 and finally South Korea on December 2.