Milan in shock as Ronaldo flies north

AC Milan striker Ronaldo was flown by helicopter to Paris this morning with a view to having surgery on a career-threatening knee injury sustained on Wednesday.

Early flight
The 31-year-old and Milan director Leonardo set off on their journey at 10.00CET to meet Gérard Saillant, the surgeon who treated Ronaldo when he suffered a similar injury to his right knee in 2000. The Brazilian fell awkwardly in last night's 1-1 Serie A draw against AS Livorno Calcio and was quickly diagnosed with a ruptured tendon in his left knee. He is expected to have an operation on the damaged joint tonight.

'All shocked'
Ronaldo's injury completely overshadowed last night's match with Milan medical officer Jean-Pierre Meersseman saying: "We are all shocked by what has happened. An operation is necessary." Meanwhile, Piero Volpi – who was FC Internazionale Milano's doctor when Ronaldo suffered his injury in 2000 – added: "It's a serious injury but I would not be so pessimistic about his career. When he was at Inter he returned to playing within one-and-a-half years. The tendon can be rebuilt and usually it takes eight to ten months to return to play even though he is now eight years older than when he sustained the first injury."