Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to miss Wednesday’s training session with an ongoing hip flexor problem after missing Manchester United’s derby defeat by Manchester City on Sunday, March 6.

The footballer has not played in a significant team meeting since missing Sunday’s Manchester derby, which worries the Red Devils.

The players absent from United’s 4-1 defeat by City were in training on Monday, although the Portuguese star was not among them.

The 37-year-old was back in Carrington for Tuesday’s session, although he did not train with the group and will be absent again today.

The former Real Madrid forward missed training for the first time this Friday after informing the coaching staff of a problem with his hip flexors. He then returned to Portugal and was absent from the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to watch his teammates being beaten by their local rivals.

However, Rangnick responded to the skepticism about Ronaldo’s absence by saying: “My doctor came to me on Friday morning before training and told me that Cristiano Ronaldo could not train on Saturday because of problems with his body and therefore ‘T’ could not train the team do

United has yet to comment on whether or not the trip to Portugal has been approved by the club.

Ronaldo’s future at the club has been called into question after uncertainty over his absence from Sunday’s game at the Etihad. His sister Katia Aveiro added fuel to the fire when she liked a photo on social media that suggested the attacker was in fact, unharmed.

But the playmaker arrived at the club’s training complex ahead of Tuesday’s session as he prepared for this weekend’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

According to The Sun, Ronaldo was the last to leave after being escorted to Carrington by a team of bodyguards earlier this morning.

Rangnick is hoping his training sessions can help turn things around after Sunday’s result dropped the Red Devils to fifth place.