Ronaldo out of Bayern game with thigh injury
Ronaldo will miss Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich next week, and could be facing a lengthy injury absence, after suffering a thigh muscle tear in Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Racing Santander.
Ronaldo will miss Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich next week, and could be facing a lengthy injury absence, after suffering a thigh muscle tear in Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Racing Santander.
"I'm completely ruled out for Wednesday," Ronaldo told Radio Marca. "I think it's going to be quite a long period (of recuperation). We'll see tomorrow the extent of the injury."
Ronaldo went down clutching his left thigh after jumping for the ball in the 73rd minute of the game. Grimacing in pain, he had to be helped from the field by a team physiotherapist.
"It was a pretty bad strain and it's a concern," the Brazil international added.
"I'll have a scan tomorrow and we'll see how long I'm going to be out. It's bad luck."
Real doctor Alfonso del Corral confirmed that Ronaldo had suffered a muscle tear in his left thigh.
He said the player would miss games against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Real Zaragoza in the league next weekend. He added that Ronaldo would probably miss the final of the King's Cup, also against Zaragoza, on March 17 and did not rule out a longer absence.
"For the moment he'll miss the next two games and probably the Cup final but we'll have to wait and see the size of the tear before we know the likely recovery period," Del Corral told Real Madrid's website.
Ronaldo, three times FIFA World Player of the Year, is the leading goalscorer in Spain this season with 22 league goals.
This week he signed a two-year extension to his contract at Real Madrid, tying him to the club until 2008.
He was a doubt for Real going into the Racing game because of illness but was included in the starting line-up.
"Ronaldo was suffering from 'flu all week and a viral infection can help give rise to muscle injuries," Del Corral said.
Real claimed a 1-1 draw with Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League first knockout round in Munich.
They will also be missing Roberto Carlos for the second leg at the Bernabeu after the Brazilian fullback was handed a two-match suspension by UEFA for retaliation.