Ronaldo fears as Portugal trains in Swiss lake resort

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CRISTIANO Ronaldo left Portugal's first training session in Switzerland in preparation for the European Championship with ice wrapped around his right ankle yesterday.

The winger looked to be fine throughout the session but before he returned to the dressing room, doctors taped the ice around his foot. He was not limping and did not appear to be in pain, but the Portuguese medical team didn't immediately explain what had happened.

Portugal underwent a light training session a day after arriving in the lakeside town of Neuchatel for its final week of preparation before Saturday's start of the tournament. The players trained and did a few drills before a short session with the ball at La Maladiere Stadium.

The morning practice session, which was closed to fans, lasted about an hour and a half. Today's practice was expected to be open to fans and tickets have been sold-out for days.

Portugal, the Euro 2004 finalist, debuts on Saturday against Turkey in Geneva. Host Switzerland and the Czech Republic are the other two teams in Group A.

About 5,000 fans greeted players and coaches when they arrived from Portugal on Sunday night, waving Portuguese flags and chanting loudly.

"We knew we would be welcomed in here, but this was beyond our expectations," Portuguese football federation president Gilberto Madail said. "What we saw was unforgettable, but now we must focus on the work we have ahead of our first game."

Under Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, Portugal is coming off successful campaigns in recent top competitions. After losing to Greece on home soil in the Euro 2004 final, Portugal reached the 2006 World Cup semifinals, losing to France.

Portugal beat Georgia 2-0 on Saturday in Viseu in its final warm-up match.

Meanwhile, Bad Tatzmannsdorf, a sleepy southeastern Austrian spa, is ready to welcome Croatia's national team and its fans to its training camp, but after a couple of warm-up matches - including a 1-1 draw with Hungary on Saturday - coach Slaven Bilic is wondering whether his team is ready.

"We blew it against Hungary, but it doesn't mean we will disappoint against Austria," Bilic said in Zagreb yesterday, a day before the Croatian team arrives at Euro 2008. "Many things are not working."