Ronaldinho may have played his last game for Barcelona following Friday's revelation that he will miss the next six weeks because of injury.
The club announced on Friday that scans by the club's medical staff had found evidence of a thigh injury sustained on Thursday, in what was only the second time that the Brazilian forward had trained with the club since early last month.
Ronaldinho has not played since the 2-1 defeat at home to Villarreal on March 9, since which time he has persistently complained of thigh pains despite the fact that a scan carried out by the club on March 18 showed no sign of injury.
A statement on the club's official website, www.fcbarcelona.cat, read: "Ronaldinho will be out for approximately six weeks after suffering a pull in the adductor muscle of the right leg in a training session on Thursday.
"During said training session the player suffered the injury in a chance incident, and a scan this morning confirmed a muscle tear that will keep him out of action for approximately six weeks according to the club's medical staff."
The Spanish press are now predicting Ronaldinho has played his last game in a Barca shirt as the injury rules him out of any games until around mid-May.
The former FIFA World Player of the Year has rarely been out of the spotlight this season with media focus regularly shifting between his weight, his fitness, his form, his private life and his future at the Nou Camp.
A move to either Chelsea or AC Milan has been touted for some time, and speculation mounted earlier this week when the Italian press reported a meeting between Roberto de Assis, Ronaldinho's brother and agent, and the vice-president of AC Milan Adriano Galliani.
De Assis also caused a stir at the end of March when he announced to Brazilian website GloboEsporte.com that his brother could look to exit the Catalan club by invoking article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations.
He said: "The possibility of Ronaldinho leaving Barcelona is always there.
"We are aware of the release clause, but we also know about the existence of article 17. Anything is possible."
Whether he has played his final game or not at the Nou Camp, he will now be unavailable for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Schalke, plus a possible semi-final match-up with Manchester United.
He will also miss the majority of the remainder of Barca's La Liga campaign, including the crucial game with Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on May 7 as they attempt to make up their seven-point deficit on their rivals at the top of the league.
However, there was some good news for Barca fans on Friday as Lionel Messi announced his return to fitness.
The 20-year-old has not played since the beginning of March when he also suffered a thigh muscle tear in his left leg during a Champions League game against Celtic.
On Friday he told El Mundo Deportivo: "I'm fine now and I have completed all the stages of the recovery.
"The leg's responding and thank God the moment of my return has arrived. I'll no doubt be training alone for the next one or two days then on the third I'll join my team-mates."
Ronaldinho has not played since the 2-1 defeat at home to Villarreal on March 9, since which time he has persistently complained of thigh pains despite the fact that a scan carried out by the club on March 18 showed no sign of injury.
A statement on the club's official website, www.fcbarcelona.cat, read: "Ronaldinho will be out for approximately six weeks after suffering a pull in the adductor muscle of the right leg in a training session on Thursday.
"During said training session the player suffered the injury in a chance incident, and a scan this morning confirmed a muscle tear that will keep him out of action for approximately six weeks according to the club's medical staff."
The Spanish press are now predicting Ronaldinho has played his last game in a Barca shirt as the injury rules him out of any games until around mid-May.
The former FIFA World Player of the Year has rarely been out of the spotlight this season with media focus regularly shifting between his weight, his fitness, his form, his private life and his future at the Nou Camp.
A move to either Chelsea or AC Milan has been touted for some time, and speculation mounted earlier this week when the Italian press reported a meeting between Roberto de Assis, Ronaldinho's brother and agent, and the vice-president of AC Milan Adriano Galliani.
De Assis also caused a stir at the end of March when he announced to Brazilian website GloboEsporte.com that his brother could look to exit the Catalan club by invoking article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations.
He said: "The possibility of Ronaldinho leaving Barcelona is always there.
"We are aware of the release clause, but we also know about the existence of article 17. Anything is possible."
Whether he has played his final game or not at the Nou Camp, he will now be unavailable for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Schalke, plus a possible semi-final match-up with Manchester United.
He will also miss the majority of the remainder of Barca's La Liga campaign, including the crucial game with Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on May 7 as they attempt to make up their seven-point deficit on their rivals at the top of the league.
However, there was some good news for Barca fans on Friday as Lionel Messi announced his return to fitness.
The 20-year-old has not played since the beginning of March when he also suffered a thigh muscle tear in his left leg during a Champions League game against Celtic.
On Friday he told El Mundo Deportivo: "I'm fine now and I have completed all the stages of the recovery.
"The leg's responding and thank God the moment of my return has arrived. I'll no doubt be training alone for the next one or two days then on the third I'll join my team-mates."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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