Manchester United in the dark over Cristiano Ronaldo return date amid Chelsea links

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Manchester United are unsure when Cristiano Ronaldo will return to training after he was absent from Carrington for the second day in a row on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old was granted permission to miss the return of pre-season training due to "family reasons" and his absence has now extended into a second day.

United welcomed back the internationals who had played in June to training on Monday, but Ronaldo was not among them as speculation around his future continues to make headlines.

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He was allowed to miss training after making a request to the club, but his return date remains unclear. He was reportedly pictured in Lisbon on Monday at Portugal's training centre.

Having granted Ronaldo permission to miss training, United are still uncertain when he will return or if he will be back in time for the departure for the club's pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia on Friday.

United play four friendlies in 16 days in Bangkok, Melbourne and Perth and the tour will be a vital block of training for new boss Erik ten Hag, who had been expected to hold talks with Ronaldo once he returns to training.

A report over the weekend claimed Ronaldo had asked to leave United, with a desire to play in the Champions League. United only finished sixth last season and are in the Europa League this term, a competition Ronaldo hasn't played in for 20 years, when it was still called the UEFA Cup.

Chelsea and Bayern Munich have both been linked with the forward, but United have reiterated Ronaldo is not for sale. The Portugal international is under contract until next year and United have the option of an additional year.

Ronaldo scored 24 goals in 38 games on