Edinson Cavani has reiterated how much respect he has for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pair seemed like they were starting to form a formidable partnership as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer started the two up front against Tottenham as he changed to a 5-3-2 formation.
Cavani and Ronaldo both got on the scoresheet for Manchester United during the 3-0 victory and linked up effectively throughout the 90 minutes, as they combined for the Uruguayan's strike.
But that was put on hold as Cavani picked up an injury on the eve of the Manchester derby and missed the 2-0 defeat by Man City.
The Red Devils appeared to suffer in his absence as they were barely a threat at the top end of the pitch as Ronaldo looked isolated and hardly received any service.
The mutual respect between the two has been there ever since Ronaldo arrived at the club as Cavani gave him the no.7 shirt as he took no.21 for the current campaign.
It speaks volumes that Cavani granted the Portugal star's request, but denied the very same plea from Jadon Sancho who wanted the no.7 jersey after arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
According to The Athletic, Cavani was said to have been 'put out' at being asked to give up his shirt number for the winger, whereas he was more than happy to surrender it for Ronaldo.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said at the time: "Edinson has been remarkable.
"Cristiano spoke with Edinson and they spoke to each other. And to pass on his shirt just shows the respect he’s got for Cristiano, but also Cristiano speaking to Edinson shows the respect the other way. Two top, top professionals and players."
And Cavani has since spoken of his "admiration" for his teammate.
He said: "He is one of the great players that I have played with and that arouses admiration in me.”
Cavani suffered a tendon problem leading up to derby day as undergoes treatment for his latest setback.
And the United talisman has vowed to make a recovery and get back to scoring goals for his club and country.
He added: "You never know how things can happen, sometimes in the best moments things happen to you, or sometimes when you think that everything is going wrong, things turn and start to work in a different way, and everything changes.
"At the end of the day that’s what you want, you live 100% for football and what you least want is to be out, so I want to recover to play these remaining months of the league and try to do it in the best way and to the top.
"Today I want to recover as soon as possible to be at the disposal of #mufc and my national team."
