Cristiano Ronaldo 'boxed off' observation made as ex-Man Utd & Wrexham keeper Ben Foster insists 'too many' members of Erik ten Hag's squad are 'happy to be injured'

Ronaldo, renowned for his relentless work ethic, exemplifies longevity and peak performance, even as he approaches 40. Foster attributed Ronaldo's remarkable fitness to his meticulous approach to training, which prioritises physical conditioning and injury prevention. And as United grapple with a wave of injuries, Foster has set Ronaldo's discipline and commitment to fitness as a model to follow for the current crop of players at Carrington.

Speaking to The United Stand, former Red Devils and Wrexham keeper Foster said of Ronaldo's approach behind the scenes: "He invests in himself as his own business and makes sure he has got everything boxed off. So it’s all looked after. So he very rarely will pick up an injury, because of that exact fact."

Club legend Wayne Rooney has accused United players of playing up their injuries and not putting in the hard yards in rehabilitation to expedite their return. Foster echoed the thoughts of the former striker and said: "I agree with Wayne Rooney, there are too many players happy to be injured."

However, he contends that the focus should be on preventing injuries in the first place through proactive measures, rather than solely on players' rehabilitation efforts.

"A lot of people see players getting injured and they go ‘oh, he’s so unlucky’," he added.

“And having been in football for 20-odd years, I think some of them are very unlucky. Some injuries, for sure. Yeah, they were unavoidable. But the vast majority can be prevented. The vast majority can be prevented by doing extra gym work, warm down, cool down prehab rehab, all that kind of stuff, preventative work in the gym to strengthen areas, and around areas so that you don’t get any, or a recurrence of an injury.”

United have several first-team members unavailable due to injury including the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw. Erik ten Hag has often cited the number of injuries affecting his team selection as his defence when questioned on United's poor performance. Moreover, he has even insisted that the ownership has "common sense" to retain him amid talk of an imminent sacking.

With European qualification on the line, Ten Hag will hope that his troops will put their best foot forward against the Magpies on Wednesday evening to snap out of a three-match winless run in the league. However, the FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley on May 25 is expected to be a litmus test for the manager whose future hangs in the balance.