Cristiano Ronaldo returns

Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Manchester United training – with the clock ticking on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s time as manager.

Ronaldo was pictured arriving at Carrington in his black Bentley Flying Spur on Thursday having returned from international duty.

The Red Devils are preparing for a return to Premier League action against strugglers Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

But reports suggest Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains on borrowed time and the club are privately making plans to appoint his successor

According to the Manchester Evening News, club chiefs have privately decided they will need a change of manager but it is unclear when a change will be made.

Brendan Rodgers is the preferred candidate to replace Solskjaer with Erik Ten Hag and Luis Enrique also identified although Solskjaer may remain in charge until the end of the season.

Despite uncertainty over Solskjaer’s future, United players seemed in good spirts as they returned to first-team training earlier this week.

Ronaldo returned to training after a disappointing week with Portugal which saw them miss-out on automatic qualification for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

A late Aleksandar Mitrovic goal condemned Ronaldo’s side to a 2-1 defeat to Serbia and left them needing to get through the play-offs to reach the tournament.

Ronaldo’s frustration was clear after the game as he remonstrated with manager Fernando Santos on the pitch at full-time.

And Santos also revealed that Ronaldo took out his frustrations on a Serbian opponent after the game was over.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Santos told TVI. “When the game was over, the disappointment was brutal. If it was for the Portuguese, imagine for the players and staff. The players were on the ground.

Cristiano Ronaldo returns

“I went to the field to support and comfort the players, he [Ronaldo] was telling a Serbian player: ‘You wouldn’t be laughing if the goal I scored there hadn’t been cancelled out’. What I told you was to take it easy.”

Despite the setback, Ronaldo issued a defiant statement on social media insisting Portugal will make it to Qatar.