Ronaldo ruled out of Portugal's upcoming matches

Portugal head coach Fernando Santos has left Cristiano Ronaldo out of the squad for a pair of matches later this month, with reports suggesting the Juventus star requested he be omitted, according to Portuguese outlet Record via Adriana Garcia of ESPN.

Portugal will be without its all-time leading scorer when it takes on Poland on Oct. 11 in Nations League action before traveling to Glasgow three days later to face Scotland in a friendly at Hampden Park.

Ronaldo, who denied allegations Wednesday that he raped an American woman in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009, is believed to have met with Santos and Portuguese federation president Fernando Gomes before deciding he should not be included in the national team through November.

Santos did not reveal the exact reason for Ronaldo's omission when speaking to the media Thursday, only saying he expects the 33-year-old to return to the fold.

"In the future, nothing will prevent Ronaldo from contributing to the team," Santos said.

Ronaldo was also excluded from the squad in September when Portugal drew with World Cup runner-up Croatia in a friendly before beating Nations League opponent Italy. At the time, Santos said Ronaldo was omitted from the team because he needed to adapt to his new club Juventus, whom he joined from Real Madrid for €100 million in July.