Cristiano Ronaldo may have had an impressive international break, with the Portuguese ace being one goal shy of reaching the 100-goal mark with Portugal, but his involvement in A Selecao's games will hinder his chances of playing for Juventus this weekend, as his coach Maurizio Sarri has confirmed.
The Italian tactician revealed in today's press conference that CR7 will be rested as a precaution, since he wants him around for the crucial clash against Atlético, which should determine the winner of the group they share in the UEFA Champions League.
"The main goal is to see him reach the UEFA Champions League against Atlético in top form. He will not play against Atalanta tomorrow, 99% sure," Sarri said.
The Italian tactician revealed that it was CR7 himself who told him about this new fitness issue and how it happened.
"We had a meeting on Tuesday, he told us that he played against Lithuania and everything was OK, but during the game vs Luxembourg, he felt the same problems he had during the last games with us. We've prepared a program to try and take those problems away, which he claims have gotten to his head as well," Sarri added.
The former Chelsea boss dismissed the need for an explanation from CR7 after the incident against Milan, where he left the pitch and went directly into the team's locker room, while adding that his decision regarding tomorrow's game has nothing to do with what happened back then.
"He doesn't need to speak to anyone. You can see that sort of reaction even among amateur players. I have understood that players need to get their act together, if I had not understood that, I would spend the entire day demanding explanations from them," Sarri concluded.
