CRISTIANO RONALDO LEFT a Juventus training session with an arm injury this afternoon, a week before his Portugal side face the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in the Algarve. 

Ronaldo hurt his arm in a challenge with Alex Sandro, and left the pitch accompanied by members of the Juventus medical staff. Sky Sports report that his fitness will be assessed ahead of this weekend’s Serie A game against Empoli. 

Ronaldo is aiming to become the all-time record goalscorer in men’s senior international football against Ireland, having equalled Ali Daei’s total of 109 goals at Euro 2020. 

Portugal are already without midfielder Renato Sanches for the qualifier against Ireland, along with the subsequent friendly against Qatar and the qualifier away to Azerbaijan. 

Fernando Santos is set to announce his squad for the triple-header of games at noon tomorrow.  

Ronaldo, meanwhile, has been linked with a move away from Juventus as he enters the final year of his contract at the club. He was left on the bench for last Sunday’s draw with Udinese, though manager Max Allegri said the decision was purely tactical. 

Portuguese authorities will permit the Estadio Algarve to be one-third full for the Ireland game, meaning just over 10,000 home fans will be in attendance. Travelling fans have been banned by Uefa and Fifa, who cited the Covid-19 pandemic in justifying their decision. 

Portugal and Serbia are level at the top of Group A with seven points each, with back-to-back defeats leaving Ireland languishing in fourth place, ahead of bottom-placed Azerbaijan by virtue of having scored one goal more.