Ronaldo has been stretchered off in tears after sustaining what could
be a very serious left knee injury.

The Brazilian had only been on the field for three minutes in Milan’s
rescheduled Week 16 match with Livorno when he collapsed in the box.

The referee awarded a penalty for Jose Luis Vidigal’s handball – later converted
by Andrea Pirlo to equalise from Nico Pulzetti’s effort – but all attention was
on Ronaldo.

He was stretchered off screaming and crying in agony, clutching his left knee,
and initial reports suggest it is a very serious injury to the tendons.

The fall was not entirely dissimilar to the April 12, 2000 collapse that
happened minutes after his comeback for Inter against Lazio.

That kept him out for almost another year and with the recent rumours Ronaldo is
considering retirement, there are fears another setback could force Il Fenomeno
out of football.

The player has been immediately rushed to a local hospital for tests,
accompanied in the ambulance by Milan director Leonardo.

It is just the latest in a series of disastrous injuries that have struck
Ronaldo. The first was on November 21, 1998 when he partially tore the tendon in
his right knee during Inter-Lecce.

He underwent surgery and returned on April 12, 2000 in the Coppa Italia Final
against Lazio, but within six minutes the same knee visibly buckled without
challenge and this time the tendon was completely severed.

Another operation kept him out of action for almost a year and he was declared
“clinically healed” on March 8, 2001.

He had a number of muscular problems on the road to match fitness and switched
to Real Madrid in June 2002, but here too had setbacks and was out for three
months after straining ligaments in his left leg in 2005.

In Ronaldo’s first six months at Milan he scored seven goals in 14 games, but
has barely set foot on the pitch since the summer due to a series of muscular
injuries.





Channel 4


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