Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in the lineup when Portugal faces Poland and Scotland during the international break.
Ronaldo, 33, is dealing with rape accusations from Kathryn Mayorga, and has firmly denied her story while calling rape “abominable.”
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Ronaldo was not called up for the last international break in order to give him time to adjust to Juve, and coach Fernando Santos has called up a similar squad and refused to give an explanation for the move, so there’s certainly no guarantee the absence is linked to the rape claims.
Portugal is home to Poland for the UEFA Nations League match -- the Scotland game is a friendly -- after beating Italy 1-0 in the tournament opener.
Portugal, of course, won the EURO final despite Ronaldo going down with an injury and has plenty of depth in attack to weather his absence against Robert Lewandowski and Poland. Goncalo Guedes, Andre Silva, and Bernardo Silva are among the top attack options.
