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'Ro'-turn Ronaldo resumes light training under hot Brazilian sun
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Back home, back on the pitch. Sidelined Inter Milan striker Ronaldo stepped onto the grass at a Rio de Janeiro stadium Wednesday for his first light training session with a soccer ball since injuring his knee eight months ago. "I miss playing with the ball but I'm having fun with the work now. Now it's not just the boring phase of physical therapy," Ronaldo told reporters after running, dribbling through cones and kicking carefully for an hour at a former Flamengo training stadium in the Barra beachside neighborhood. "There have been days when I thought it would be difficult to come back and it's very emotional to be out playing with the ball, but I have to be cautious," said the 24-year-old Inter star, who had not kicked a ball in 252 days. The exercises are to test the extent of Ronaldo's recovery from surgery on his right knee, which he injured in April for the second time in five months. Doctors expect a full recovery but say a further knee injury could end the player's career. Jogging under the hot Rio sun and the eagle eye of his physical therapist Nilton Petrone, Ronaldo appeared to have no problem with his knee. He was also looking slimmer, having lost four kilograms (8.8 pounds) in the past six weeks. "We're going month by month," Petrone said after the session. "What's important is he's always moving forward." The training schedule Ronaldo started Wednesday involves three hours of physical therapy in the gym in the mornings, followed by an hour on-pitch training and two hours exercising in the pool. He plans to stay in Rio through Jan. 15, before heading back to Italy where the next step of his training will be decided, Petrone said. Next week, two physical trainers from Inter are scheduled to arrive to watch Ronaldo's progress. Brazilian national coach Leao and technical coordinator Lopes also met with Ronaldo before Wednesday's training session to show their interest in his recovery, said Ronaldo's manager, Rodrigo Paiva. Paiva said French doctors are expecting a full recovery in the first half of 2001. "We didn't even know he'd be training like this by now, but we went to France and they said he could start," Paiva said. Asked about his injury, the striker said: "I wasn't scared, just sad and worried. "Then, as time passed, I wanted to play again," he said. "Without a doubt I will work to return to what I was before, otherwise it wouldn't make sense," Ronaldo said. Paiva told local media that Inter was not counting on Ronaldo to return until the 2001-02 season, although he might be tested in some games before then. Ronaldo has spent the last three months recovering, mostly in France and briefly in the United States. Dr. Gerard Saillant, who has twice operated on Ronaldo, has predicted a full recovery but warned that another injury would likely end Ronaldo's playing career. Saillant first operated on Ronaldo's knee after the player tore a tendon in November 1999. The Brazilian made a brief comeback in April in an Italian championship game, but collapsed in agony after just seven minutes as he injured the tendon again.
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