Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that it is 'hard to leave Cristiano Ronaldo out', but the Manchester United boss will continue to make difficult decisions to benefit the team in the long run.

The Portugal international has scored five times in six appearances for the Red Devils since returning to the club in the latter stages of the summer transfer window.

Ronaldo was named on the bench for the clash with Everton before the international break, and the 20-time English champions struggled to a 1-1 draw against the Toffees.

Solskjaer has said that he would like to select the 36-year-old from the start in every match but has suggested that he will have to drop the forward to the bench during busy runs of fixtures.

"He's an exceptional player, exceptional finisher, goalscorer, exceptional pro, it's hard to leave him out and I think everyone would love to, how do you say, if you can go and play six games in six days and play the same XI every time, it's great but rotation, we need to get to April/May with everyone firing," Solskjaer told reporters.

"We got to May in the final stretch of last season and we were too tired. I manage the players for the club. It's nice to have him on the pitch, he'll always come up with the goods. The more we have him on the pitch, the better."

Ronaldo continued his incredible run of form for Portugal with three goals in his national team's 5-0 win over Luxembourg on Tuesday night.