Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has said that Cristiano Ronaldo is now in a strong position to play an important role for the Red Devils.
The 37-year-old missed the team's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to a personal issue, and he only played 45 minutes of football for the club ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Ronaldo has found it difficult to break into the side this term, being named in the starting XI in the Premier League on one just occasion, with Marcus Rashford largely preferred at centre-forward.
The Portugal international's first goal of the campaign came against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League in the middle of September.
Ronaldo then came off the bench to score against Everton in the Premier League on Sunday evening, with the goal his 700th in club football.
© Reuters
Ten Hag has always insisted that the attacker's lack of starts were due to the fact that he had not gone through a pre-season with the club.
However, the Dutchman has said that Ronaldo is now in a strong position to contribute, with the forward putting in his best performance of the campaign off the bench against Everton.
"I want to support him as good as possible. We have certain demands from players, what we expect in certain positions," Ten Hag told reporters.
"I want to get the best out of him, he's in better shape now and I'm happy with that. At the start, it was the case [lack of fitness], it's proven once again, no one can miss a pre-season."
Ronaldo is believed to have informed Man United at the start of July of his desire to leave this summer to continue playing Champions League football.
© Reuters
However, there were a lack of genuine suitors during the summer, and he is expected to stay in January despite the speculation surrounding his future.
Ronaldo's contract at Old Trafford is due to expire next June, although the Red Devils have the option of extending the agreement for another 12 months to June 2024.
Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will all be missing against Omonia in the Europa League on Thursday through injury, but Marcus Rashford is fit after suffering an injury scare in the latter stages of the clash with Everton.
"He will be training today," said Ten Hag when asked about the status of the England international ahead of the European fixture at Old Trafford.
Man United will then be back in Premier League action against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon before welcoming Tottenham Hotspur on October 19.
Matt Law
