Ronaldo Blow to Portugal In Crucial WC Play-Off Games

World Cup Qualifiers - Europe Zone Play-offs, First Leg

November 14, 2009

Rep of Ireland v France (Dublin)
Portugal v Bosnia Herzegovina (Lisbon)
Russia v Slovenia (Moscow)
Greece v Ukraine (Athens)

Is it all gloom and doom for Portugal's World Cup hope?

The Portuguese are in a quandary with their Real Madrid 'galactico' Cristiano Ronaldo still suffering from a recurring ankle injiury.

It's also a big blow to Real Madrid if their £80m summer signing from Manchester United is not able to be fit in time for the upcoming clash with Primera Liga leader Barcelona who are one point ahead of them.

The crucial play-off matches for European teams kick off with the first leg on Nov 14. That won't give crocked Ron enough time to recover when Portugal face Bosnia Herzegovina in Lisbon, according to his Dutch specialist Prof Niek van Dijk.

Reports on Friday revealed that Ronaldo had been advised by Van Dilk to continue treatment before returning for a fresh evaluation in 15 days' time.

That would put a damper on the 24-year-old Portuguese superstar's chances of playing in the two-leg play-off, the second leg is slated four days later in Zenica.

Tension and thrills

Bosnia-Herzegovina, who finished in second place in the European Zone Group 5 in which Euro 2008 champions Spain came out tops, are not exactly a pushover. And with the prospect of playing their first-ever World Cup finals in South Africa, they will be more determined to upset Portugal minus Ronaldo.

Bosnia-Herzegovina are No. 42 in the Fifa World Ranking. This time around, the Bosnians have a well-balanced side and they had scored 25 goals in their World Cup qualifying campaign. That makes them one of the most prolific teams in the European Zone.

We can expect the play-off rounds to produce matches filled with tension and thrills as eight teams - France, Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Bosnia Herzegovina, Russia, Slovenia, Greece and Ukraine - make their 'last bid' to win their tickets to South Africa.

Some pundits are saying this will be a wide-open contest. The four seeded teams - France, Russia, Portugal and Greece - are by no means guaranteed of a smooth path. There could well be an upset or two, with the most likely to come from the Greece v Ukraine and Portugal v Bosnia Herzegovina games.

> Ronaldo out for two more weeks
> European play-offs wide open