It seemed innocuous enough at first glance.
With only a few minutes played of the Euro 2016 final in Paris, Cristiano Ronaldo collided with Dimitri Payet and hit the deck, clutching at his left knee. Even after a couple of replays, it wasn’t immediately clear that this was a game-ending injury for Ronaldo.
On he played, although clearly all was not well with the Real Madrid star. Having received treatment from the Portuguese medical staff, a teary-eyed Ronaldo eventually withdrew from the match a little over a quarter of the way through.
After seeing this image, it’s perhaps no surprise as to why…
He played on.
Indication of his incredible will to win. #Euro2016Final #Euro2016 pic.twitter.com/iNMDf6FyTz
— Paul Moore (@ElChiefMoore) July 10, 2016
As shown by this freeze frame, with his knee so clearly twisted it’s likely that the challenge has left Ronaldo with some form of ligament damage to his knee joint. Although he eventually bowed out of the final, it’s testament to the man’s hunger to play that he remained on the pitch for so long after the injury was acquired.
No matter what you think of the man, you can never question his hunger for the game. It’s such a shame that he only played a small part in such one of the biggest matches in international football.
