The same is true for several other Portuguese internationals, who are also experiencing physical problems, although no absences have been confirmed.

Cristiano Ronaldo's injury

Ronaldo suffered a right thigh muscle injury at the end of February while playing for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, coached by Jorge Jesus, and has been absent from competition since then, having missed Portugal's call-up for friendlies against Mexico and the United States.

Ronaldo is expected to return to competition in April, with his team, which also includes João Félix, in the fight to win the Saudi championship.

The 41-year-old Portuguese striker has been at the top level of football for over two decades, and cases of prolonged injuries are rare – most of them traumatic and not muscular – meaning it takes almost 10 years to find an injury that forced him to stop playing for about a month.

In the final of Euro 2016, which Portugal won against France with a goal by Éder in extra time, Ronaldo was injured in his left knee in the first half of the decisive match, played on 10 July.

The forward used the holiday period to recover, but still missed the start of Real Madrid's season, returning to competition in mid-September.

Previously, the same left knee had given him problems in 2014, forcing him to miss games for the Spanish team and limiting him at the World Cup that year, held in Brazil.

In 2008, Ronaldo also experienced physical problems, in his case with his right ankle, which led the Sporting-trained striker to miss several matches for Manchester United, eventually requiring surgery at the end of the season, after his participation in Euro 2008.

Other injured players

The national team captain's injury comes at a time when several Portuguese internationals regularly called up by coach Roberto Martínez have also experienced physical problems, such as Rúben Dias, Nélson Semedo, Francisco Conceição, João Neves, Rafael Leão, and Pedro Gonçalves.

Rúben Dias, defender for Manchester City in England, was already out for more than a month in 2026 due to a thigh injury, and now he is once again out of the squad due to a new ailment, as is Rafael Leão, from Milan in Italy, who was also sidelined for a long time at the beginning of the season and is once again injured.

Nélson Semedo, right-back for Turkish side Fenerbahçe, has been experiencing various physical problems, including a recent ligament injury in his left knee, and has been out of competition for over a month.

Like Semedo, Francisco Conceição, a winger for Juventus, also faced periods of inactivity due to physical problems, mainly muscular, which also affected Pedro Gonçalves of Sporting.

The attacking midfielder for Sporting Club de Portugal, who last season was already absent for several months, was out for about a month and a half this season with muscle problems and has found it difficult to return to his best form.

João Cancelo, now on loan to FC Barcelona, ​​was also absent for more than a month due to a muscle problem in the first half of the season when he played for Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal, but is now playing for the Catalan club and has been selected by Martínez for the double pre-season friendly.

Midfielder João Neves, from European champion Paris Saint-Germain, is also having a season marked by several physical problems, something that had never happened to him in his career, despite being in the squad, unlike Diogo Costa and Rodrigo Mora, both from FC Porto, who 'fell' from the list of those selected for the next two friendlies due to recent injuries.

In addition to these, several other Portuguese internationals have experienced less serious problems this season, and the good news for the coach is that none have suffered, so far, an injury that would prevent them from participating in the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico, between 11 June and 19 July.