Muscle injury sidelines Ronaldo
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
Article summary
Ronaldo could miss the start of Real Madrid CF's defence of their UEFA Champions League crown.
Article body
Ronaldo could miss the start of Real Madrid CF's defence of their UEFA Champions League crown after picking up an injury ahead of his first training session with the Spanish club.
Muscle pain
The Brazilian, bought from Internazionale FC on transfer deadline day, is expected to be sidelined for two weeks after he felt a muscle pain in his left leg as he was about to take to the training field. The club's medical staff attributed the injury to the stress endured by Ronaldo in the weeks leading up to his move to Madrid.
'Nothing serious'
Juan Carlos Hernández, Madrid's doctor, deemed the injury "nothing serious", but added that Ronaldo, the leading scorer at the 2002 FIFA World Cup with eight goals, would "need 20 days" to reach the levels of fitness of his team-mates.
Trip to Rome
Madrid's first Champions League outing of the 2002/03 campaign is a potentially difficult trip to AS Roma on 17 September. Belgian side KRC Genk, the first visitors to the Santiago Bernabéu, and AEK Athens FC of Greece complete Group C.
