Atlanta [US], March 31 : The Portugal head coach, Robert Martinez, has said that legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo remains important in the national team's plans heading into the FIFA World Cup despite injury.
Cristiano failed to make it to the national squad for the pre-FIFA World Cup friendlies against Mexico and the USA due to an injury suffered during his Saudi Pro League match for Al Nassr in February.
While Portugal played out a 0-0 draw against Mexico in the first friendly, they will play the USA in their second friendly at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Ahead of the match, Robert termed Cristiano as a "role model", who is "hungry to improve every day and is an inspiration to younger players".
"Cristiano is our captain, a role model and a player with a real hunger," Martinez said as quoted by ESPN about the 41-year-old icon, who eyes World Cup glory in his sixth appearance.
"He is not just a 41-year-old player; he is a player who's hungry to improve every day. He is proving to be an exemplary captain and an inspiration to the younger players, someone who shows the way and embodies our values."
"And on the pitch, he's scored 25 goals in the last 30 games. We assess the players on a day-to-day basis, session by session, and the standards in the national team are the highest for everyone," he continued.
Currently, as per Martinez, Cristiano is training separately in Saudi Arabia and could return to action next week, pointing his injury to be "nothing serious".
"He has a minor injury and will probably be back playing and training next week. It is nothing serious. Cristiano is our captain; he is a very important player. He was our captain in the Nations League and plays a huge part in the team's final third, that movement in the box," he added.
Cristiano is Portugal's leading goal scorer, with 143 goals coming in 226 appearances since the first time he wore the national colours in 2003.
The coach has indicated that Cristiano has not presented his retirement plans to the team, saying that he as a head coach, "has quickly learned not to try and predict the future with Cristiano."
"The end of his career? We do not know. It is hard to say. I have quickly learned not to try to predict the future with Cristiano. He focuses on being the best he can be right now. He does not make plans for the future," he concluded.