The Hindu : Sport / Football : Ronaldo feeling stronger: trainer

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Monday, Jun 05, 2006

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Sport - Football

Ronaldo feeling stronger: trainer

The striker will play his 100th match for Brazil during the World Cup

WEGGIS (Switzerland): Ronaldo is recovering from an injury-hit season and has improved considerably during Brazil's pre-World Cup preparation, Brazil's physical trainer said on Saturday.

``He has improved well,'' Moraci Sant'Anna said. ``He's feeling well and is without any pain.''

Ronaldo was sidelined for most of April and May because of a muscle injury suffered in the Spanish league. He had various injuries at the start of the year and played sparingly for Real Madrid, scoring only five goals in the team's first 19 matches.

``He's not having problems with his leg anymore, he's already feeling stronger,'' Sant'Anna said before Brazil's last training session.

Many had said that Ronaldo was overweight when he reported to Brazil's training camp two weeks ago, but the striker insisted such comments were coming from people who were ``not well-informed.''

Brazilian doctors have constantly said Ronaldo was in acceptable condition and was expected to be in top form at the World Cup. The 29-year-old striker will be playing his 100th match for Brazil in the game against Croatia on June 13.

Record beckons

He is tied with Pele with 12 World Cup goals and is only three away from becoming the tournament's all-time leading scorer.

Ronaldo scored two goals in Brazil's 8-0 victory against Swiss club FC Lucerne on Tuesday in Basel, Switzerland.

Brazil, in Group F along with Croatia, Australia and Japan, will play its last warm-up match against New Zealand in Geneva. — AP

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