Ronaldo is out of the game - which Portugal need to win
to ensure their place in the play-offs - with an ankle injury and
Real are reported as insisting he does not travel to
Guimaraes.
"The important thing is recuperating perfectly to get over the
problem," the player himself said on Real's website - though he did
earlier ask for permission to make the trip.
Real are already upset that Ronaldo is set to be out for a month
after he aggravated an existing ankle problem in Saturday's win
over Hungary, during which he hobbled off. He suffered the original
problem in the Champions League win over Marseille.
Cristiano Ronaldo
is confident that he will be back on
the pitch sooner than expected, despite being told he faces around
a month on the sidelines.
The injury is to the ankle which was operated on last year, but
the world's most expensive player has reassured fans that his new
problem is in no way related to the old injury and that he expects
to be back sooner rather than later.
"I will work very hard to try to shorten the length of time I'm
out, even though now what's important is to recuperate perfectly so
as not to return to having problems," Ronaldo said. "It's a
different injury to that which I was operated on. It's got nothing
to do with that.
"I'm calm because I know that with the desire I have to get
better and the good work of the physiotherapists at Madrid
everything will go very well."
Ronaldo's absence will be a big blow to Real, as the 24-year-old
has scored nine goals in seven competitive games since moving from
Manchester United in the summer. Real's dependence on him was
evident as they lost their first match without him.
Real will feel somewhat aggrieved with Portugal, who played
Ronaldo after he had missed the Sevilla match the previous week
with injury. However, Ronaldo said there was never any question of
him missing out. "I felt very good, but I wasn't at 100%, I had a
bit of discomfort," he said. "But I wanted to push myself to help
my country go to the World Cup. I'm upset because I was in a good
period of form and so being injured again is something that affects
me even more. I'm not the country's savour, but after the defeat
against Sevilla, I wanted to help my Real Madrid team-mates win the
next few games."
Ronaldo is almost certain to miss Real's games against
Valladolid, Sporting Gijon and Getafe, as well as a Champions
League home match against Milan and a Copa del Rey match at
Alcorcón. He is also likely to be absent from Madrid's visit to the
San Siro and the derby against Atlético Madrid.
