Cristiano Ronaldo has begun treatment for ankle sprain he suffered during the world cup qualifying match between Portugal and Hungary in Lisbon on Saturday.
 
After returning from Portugal on Sunday, the Real Madrid striker underwent a medical examination and was told that he would be out of action for about a month.

The 24-year-old underwent surgery on the same ankle in July last year, spending two months on the sidelines at the start of last season, but he insists this latest setback is not a recurrence of the same problem.

He is now back in Madrid with the few team mates who are not on international duty this weekend and admitted to me "very disappointed" about the injury that will make him miss about eight matches, including two UEFA Champions League clashes with AC Milan.

Ronaldo, who was in excellent form for Madrid before the international break, wants to get back on the pitch as soon as he can.  "I'm not the country's saviour," he said, "but after the defeat against Sevilla, I wanted to help my Real Madrid team-mates win the next few games."

In a statment on Real Madrid's website he made it clear that a quick, but full recovery was uppermost in his mind: "The most important thing for me is to make sure I recover properly so that the problem does not recur".

"I will work hard to reduce the amount of time I'm out of action, but I have to make sure I'm fully fit before I play again," he added.

According to Real Madrid's director general, Jorge Valdano, "it was highly likely" that Cristiano Ronaldo "was not 100% fit" for the Portugal-Hungary match, which is why he aggravated an existing problem with the ligaments in his right ankle.