Ronaldo faces three-month lay-off

***wraggster*** · July 11th, 2008, 16:22

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he could be sidelined for up to three months following his ankle operation.

It had been thought the 23-year-old winger, who is at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war with Real Madrid, would only be out for half that time.

"It's confirmed I'll be out of action for up to 12 weeks but recovery is going well," said the Portugal star.

"I must focus on my recovery. I'll be training with a ball in two months."

Ronaldo scored 42 goals for United last season as he helped them win the Premier League and Champions League.

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He had the operation on his right ankle after playing for Portugal at Euro 2008 and is not scheduled to return to Old Trafford for another 10 days.

Then he will have to face Sir Alex Ferguson and explain a string of comments about the possibility of moving to Madrid.

United have always insisted Ronaldo, who is under contract until 2012, is not available at any price but he has long spoken of his desire to play in Spain and Real have repeatedly spoken of their interest in signing him.

On Thursday, the simmering dispute between the player and United took a new twist when Fifa president Sepp Blatter entered the debate, saying there is "too much modern slavery in football," a comment on transfer trends that Ronaldo then said he agreed with.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...td/7501105.stm

**masterchief929** · July 11th, 2008, 17:25

wow, that sucks. Ronaldo is one of my favorite football players.

**pibs** · July 11th, 2008, 20:18

what a bummer, that comment on modern slavery is very correct. Futbol seems to be almost like a mafia nowadays controlling every aspect of the game, especially the finances.