Twitter reacts as both Messi and Ronaldo sustain coincident injuries on international duty
The international break saw five-time Ballon d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi return to the Portugal and Argentina national teams respectively.
The talismanic duo made their way back to their national teams for the first time since their exits from the FIFA World Cup in Russia last summer.
The returns were far from ideal as both players struggled to inspire their respective sides to a win. While Argentina lost 3-1 to Venezuela in an international friendly, Portugal faced consecutive draws to Ukraine and Serbia in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. To make things worse, both Messi and Ronaldo suffered injuries in the course of these games.
The Barcelona star suffered a groin injury that will see him miss out his country's friendly against Morocco later tonight. The news has even prompted the Moroccan Football Federation to ask for an explanation into the absence of the 31-year-old, adding that Argentina should be fielding their best team against the Lions.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo picked up a thigh injury during Portugal's 1-1 tie with Serbia on Monday. The Portuguese star, however, downplayed any reports of a major injury assuring fans that he will be back in a week or two.
He said, "I am not worried, I know my body. It happens, it's football. I am fine because I know I will come back in one or two weeks."
"I would have liked to have been at [Portugal's] other games. It has been eight months because I needed time for myself. It was a big move in my life, I switched clubs, for my family and children too, I needed to time to adapt. I missed the national team, but sometimes we have to think in ourselves and it was the best decision."
Twitter has since exploded with reactions to the coincidence: