Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo in 'perfect condition' ahead of UEFA Nations League clash against Spain: Reports
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly well ahead of his team's UEFA Nations League home clash against Spain on September 28.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner suffered a nasty injury during his team's 4-0 away win against the Czech Republic on September 24. He suffered a heavy collision with Czech shot-stopper Tomas Vaclik and was left with a bloodied nose.
However, he completed the full 90 minutes. He even managed to get an assist under his belt after a miscued header from the Manchester United attacker fell right in the path of Diogo Jota. The Liverpool striker made no mistake as he increased his team's advantage to 4-0.
That said, the Portgual captain didn't have a very good game against the Czechs as he missed a few opportunities to get on the scoresheet.
The 37-year-old also conceded a handball inside his own box and the Czech Republic were awarded a penalty. Patrik Schick, however, was unable to convert from the spot.
Portugal overall put up a solid team performance to secure a comfortable win.
A win or a draw against Spain in their next game will secure the 2016 European champions a spot in the semifinals of the UEFA Nations League. Luis Enrique's side are coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss against Switzerland in their last game.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos not worried about Cristiano Ronaldo's goalscoring struggles
Ronaldo has not had the best start to his campaign so far this season. In eight games for his club side Manchester United, the mercurial Portuguese has scored only once.
He has also started just three games and Erik ten Hag has preferred the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial over him.
The former Real Madrid man couldn't get on the scoresheet against the Czech Republic either, despite having a few clear cut opportunities.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos opined on the superstar's struggles in front of goal as he stated (via O Jogo):
"Football is like that. He [Cristiano Ronaldo] had three or four chances to score, sometimes he hit badly, other times he hit well but didn't score, it's part of football. He worked a lot for the team. If he hadn't opened the spaces, the goals wouldn't have come."
He added:
"Of course, we all expect goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, but we all also expect goals from the Portuguese team and he too. He is happy because we won and we won well."
The Portugal captain will look to find the back of the net against Spain and add to his international record goalscoring tally of 117.