Cristiano Ronaldo is “ready to return to action” for Juventus in Saturday’s game against Udinese, boss Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed.
Ronaldo has been accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga, who claims the Juventus forward assaulted her in Las Vegas in 2009. He has firmly denied the accusation.
The 33-year-old watched from the stands on Tuesday during Juventus’ 3-0 victory over Young Boys in the Champions League as he served a one-match ban for being sent off against Valencia in the previous round.
Despite the allegations facing Ronaldo, Allegri says the 33-year-old is “doing well”.
“It is a delicate moment but he has large shoulders. I see him calm in training,” Allegri said.
“I’ve known Cristiano for three months now and for over 15 years of his career he has shown to be a great professional both on and off the pitch. He is ready to return to action tomorrow.”
Paulo Dybala – who scored a hat-trick – and Mario Mandzukic were paired together up front against Young Boys in Ronaldo’s absence, with Federico Bernarderschi deployed behind them.
Allegri says he is still considering his team selection for this weekend.
“Tomorrow I could go with a front three of Mandzukic, Dybala and Ronaldo, or one of them could be rested,” Allegri said.
Earlier this week, Ronaldo was left out of the Portugal squad for upcoming matches against Poland and Scotland.
He also missed Portugal’s first two post-World Cup matches last month, with coach Fernando Santos saying Ronaldo had only just moved to the Italian club and needed time to settle in.
