BRAZILIAN soccer superstar Ronaldo underwent a surgery last week to fix two broken bones in his left wrist. He also had 700 milliliters of fat removed from his abdomen, Brazil press reported.
Neither Ronaldo nor his club Corinthians confirmed the surgery.
“There are certain things a doctor can talk about, but others only with the consent of the patient,” Corinthians’ doctor Joaquim Grava told Terra Web site Thursday.
Terra said doctors used a different name for Ronaldo at the hospital to keep anyone from finding out whether he had undergone the weight reduction surgery.
The hospital did not confirm the surgery and Corinthians’ press office only said that the team did not discuss the personal lives of its players.
“If he did have the surgery, Ronaldo will be flying even more than he was already,” Corinthians’ goalkeeper Felipe said. “It will be good for us. If he really had the surgery and is thinner, it will be a problem for the other teams.”
Ronaldo has been thriving in his return to soccer after being sidelined for more than a year because of his third serious knee injury. Since making his debut with Corinthians in March, Ronaldo has scored 17 times in 27 matches and helped the traditional club win the Sao Paulo state championship and the Brazilian Cup.
He acknowledged, however, that he remained slightly out of shape.
He was expected to undergo the surgery later in the year in the offseason, but took advantage of the hand injury to have the procedure, GloboEsporte.com said.
Ronaldo was hospitalized Wednesday to repair the hand he broke in a fall during a 3-0 loss to Palmeiras. Doctors successfully inserted 12 screws to repair the fractures in two bones of his left hand.
The surgery will keep him sidelined for about five weeks.
Ronaldo’s weight first attracted attention at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when he arrived at the team’s camp admittedly overweight after a series of injuries with former club Real Madrid.
Even the Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, became involved in Ronaldo’s weight controversy at the time. In a video conference with players just days before the team’s debut, Silva asked whether the striker was fat. Silva had to send a fax to Ronaldo saying his previous comments about his weight were meant to end speculation, not add fuel to it.
Ronaldo has won two World Cups and three FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He is the career World Cup scoring leader with 15.
(SD-Agencies)