Cristiano Ronaldo’s No. 7 Portugal shirt may be in limbo as Rafael Leao suffers injury scare

Cristiano Ronaldo’s No. 7 shirt with the Portugal national team may have to wait for its next wearer. A few days after Ronaldo’s retirement from international football, Rafael Leao was forced off injured during Galatasaray’s win over Amedspor, which raises doubts about his availability for the next international window.

On Saturday, in the Turkish Super Lig, Leao opened the scoring in the seventh minute, but in the 50th he went down after a backheel pass, grabbed his right leg and was replaced by Deniz Gul.

Portuguese outlets such as Record and O Jogo described the problem as a muscle issue in the right thigh, although there is no official diagnosis or recovery timeline yet. The timing is a concern for Portugal, as Jorge Jesus called Leao up for the Nations League games during the international break.

Leao appears to be a candidate to succeed Ronaldo, as the No. 7 has already passed through his hands once. On Oct. 1, ahead of the Nations League match in Denmark, Ronaldo left Portugal’s camp in Copenhagen and the Galatasaray forward wore the No. 7 against Denmark and gave his usual No. 17 to Fabio Silva.

Who else could wear the No. 7?

Leao is not the only Portuguese attacker who is familiar with the number, and other players are also candidates to take the shirt. Pedro Neto wears the No. 7 at Chelsea, a shirt he has kept for 2026-27 after taking it over in 2024-25. For Portugal he currently wears the No. 18, but his style fits what the number has historically asked for.

Joao Felix is another candidate who has already worn the No. 7, at Atletico Madrid, although he wears the No. 11 with the national team and is unlikely to change his number.

Francisco Trincao is another name connected to the number, as he wears it for Al Ahli. Reports from Portugal also mention two younger options: Geovany Quenda, the Chelsea signing who still has to make his debut for the senior team, and Rodrigo Mora, the 19-year-old Roma midfielder who has been called up but has not played for the senior side yet.

For now, there is no official decision on who will carry the shirt that Cristiano Ronaldo wore for 23 years. The symbolism will always remain tied to the legendary forward, but because UEFA requires squads in league-phase Nations League matches to be numbered from 1 to 23, Portugal will have to name someone to wear it.