Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo to miss Gabon friendly after nasty gash

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Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Wednesday's friendly against Gabon in Libreville after he sustained a cut above his left eye in Sunday's 2-1 La Liga win at Levante, the Portuguese Federation (FPF) said today.

The FPF confirmed the injury would keep him out adding Valencia defender Joao Pereira and Dynamo Kiev midfielder Miguel Veloso had also pulled out of the squad because of injuries.

Ronaldo was caught by David Navarro's elbow in the opening minutes of the match in Valencia and after being patched up on the side of the pitch returned to score Real's 21st-minute opener.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said after the match Ronaldo's vision in both eyes was affected by the blow, which left one side of the Portuguese international's face covered in blood.

Navarro later said he did not intend to hurt Ronaldo: "These are things that happen during a game and I regret having wounded him, but it was something completely involuntary."

Reuters