Ronaldo might face the end of his career after six

Ronaldo might face the end of his career after six-minute comeback

Ronaldo's glittering career was last night in the balance after he collapsed in agony just six minutes into his first match for nearly five months.
Inter Milan's former world footballer of the year was carried off in tears in the Italian Cup final first leg against Lazio at Rome's Olympic Stadium after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Ronaldo, 23, was not being challenged as he weaved towards the opposition goal and fell sickeningly, holding his right knee which had been operated on in November. The two nearest Lazio defenders immediately shouted for medical assistance.
He was whisked away on a motorized cart with the knee heavily strapped. He had not played since injuring ligaments when he tripped during a Serie A match against Lecce on November 21.
Inter's president Massimo Moratti, the oil industrialist, rushed to the dressing room and tried to console the Brazilian, who could not stop crying in despair.
Club officials did not immediately report the extent of the injury but general-manager Gabriele Oriali said: 'We are afraid it may be the same tendon operated on last November.' Lazio won the match 2-1 but even coach Sven Goran Eriksson acknowledged the result was almost immaterial.
'The first thing we have to take about is Ronaldo,' he said when asked for his verdict on the match. 'I'm really, really sorry for him, for Inter and for football in general.
'We all know who Ronaldo is. He's the number one in the world.
We know what he suffered since the World Cup and over the last two seasons. Even if he's an opponent our feelings are the same.'

Lippi said he feared for the worst as soon as Ronaldo fell to the ground without being challenged.
'We saw him do a couple of feints and then he went down with no one near him. We knew immediately it was same injury on the same point of the knee where he had the operation.
'I honestly can't say what his condition is. It would be heart wrenching for any player, whether he were famous or not. This lad had put in a lot of hard work to get back, so for this to happen after just a few minutes is heart wrenching.'
Inter were late last night trying to get in touch with the French professor who operated on Ronaldo last year. They hoped to fly him to Paris this morning for an immediate examination and possible new surgery.
Ronaldo joined Inter in 1997 moving from Barcelona. He had said on the eve of last night's Italian Cup final: 'At last I can play without feeling pain in my knee. It has been a bad year for Inter.I hope I still can help the team.'
The match had started in controversial circumstances when Inter's Dutch international Clarence Seedorf was targeted by racists Lazio fans. Seedorf, however, opening the scoring before Lazio fought back with goals from Pavel Nedved and Diego Simeone to win 2-1.
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