Hierro could consider retirement if knee injury proves troublesome

Real Madrid captain Fernando Hierro could consider hanging up his boots for good if the knee ligament injury he sustained in the 4-1 win over Real Betis turns out to prove serious.

Hierro has been ruled out of action for at least six weeks and will miss upcoming Champions League matches following his clash with Real Betis's Brazilian Denilson in the 70th minute of Saturday's match.

Hierro, who will be 35 in March, was substituted and will undergo tests Monday to find out whether he has, as expected, ruptured right knee ligaments.

The club believe Hierro may even have injured other ligaments in his knee, meaning he could be out for around three months - a scenario which could persuade him to retire since he and the club have been negotiating an end-of-career deal since last December.

Hierro, who holds the record for Spain caps (89) and goals (29), played his 487th league match Saturday, his 429th for Real - a landmark which beat the previous record held by the legendary Paco Gento (428) but is still far behind Manuel Sanchis (524) and Carlos Santillana (461).