Ronaldo out after an injury to his left knee. These are words that any fan of team Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo did not want to hear in the Euro 2016 final versus France. Least of all the Madrid man himself.
After an early challenge in which Dimitri Payet collided with Ronaldo, impacting his left knee, the Portugal captain went down clearly in pain.
Two trips to the sidelines for triage could not bring him back and, finally, after an attempted run into the box, Ronaldo motioned to the bench as he realized his tournament would come to an end. He was stretchered off in agony, a likely combination of pain and heartbreak that he could not lead his team to a trophy after an emotional run to the final.
HT: #FRA 0, #POR 0. No breakthrough yet, but Ronaldo out of the game with a knee injury. #Euro2016Final pic.twitter.com/Qw92QPoyPU
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 10, 2016
Fans on both sides will be disappointed not to see Portugal's captain play the full 90 minutes. At the half, the score is 0-0, with a Portugal side putting up a spirited defense against France, who have maintained control of the match for most of the first 45+ minutes.
