Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to have recovered from his hamstring injury in time to face Tottenham Hotspur in his club's UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie. The 26-year-old injured his hamstring in Saturday's win over Atletico Madrid and doctors initially ruled him out for two to three weeks. That prognosis forced Ronaldo to pull out of Portugal's upcoming friendlies against Chile and Finland and put his availability for the first leg of the Champions League tie in doubt.
Cristiano Ronaldo Expected To Be Fit For Champions League Clash With Spurs
If Ronaldo is able to return in two weeks, the front end of the estimated recovery time, he would be available a few days before the April 5 first leg that Madrid will host. If Ronaldo cannot return until the back end of the estimated recovery time of three weeks, he would not be fit to play against Spurs, but Madrid manager Jose Mourinho thinks Ronaldo will be fit for the match.
“With his mentality we think he’ll make it [the Spurs match], but it’ll be tight,” Mourinho said.
Ronaldo's already huge impact on a match will likely be even more pronounced in this quarter-final tie. Spurs have one right back who lacks pace in Vedran Corluka and another who has never been a good defender in Alan Hutton so if Ronaldo can play he will have the chance to impact the match ever more than he already does. On the other side, Tottenham possess a blazing fast right wingers in Aaron Lennon who can put the Madrid left back, Marcelo, on his heels. If Ronaldo cannot play, Lennon will be free to run at Marcelo regularly, but if Ronaldo is fit, Lennon will be forced to defend more, cutting down on Tottenham's right-sided attack.
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