Brazil's Ronaldo talks of recovery a year after his injury

New Delhi: The hitman is back and almost ready to play after suffering yet another serious injury last year.

Brazilian legend and Corinthians striker Ronaldo has spoken of his long and winding road to recovery exactly a year after suffering a horrific knee ligament injury with AC Milan.

Many will remember Ronaldo going down in tears against Livorno on February 13, 2008. There were fears 'Il Fenomeno's' career was over and he underwent major surgery to reconstruct severed ligaments. The striker suffered from similar injuries to his right knee in 1999 and then a year later.

However, exactly 12 months to the day, Ronaldo is back and almost ready to make his debut for Corinthians. The former Inter, Milan and Real Madrid striker has spoken of his agony and rehabilitation.

"The recovery was not easier or harder than the previous one," Ronaldo told Globoesporte.com.

"I think having been through it before helped me as I already had the experience of having a serious injury. When it happened the first time I didn't really know what to expect on a day-to-day basis.

"I remember the first time [it happened]; I lost a certain degree of flexion in my right knee. However, I never had such a problem this time."

Ronaldo's physiotherapist, Bruno Mazziotta, who helped the striker recover from his first major injury, admits the player did consider retiring at one point.

"I think he thought about retiring in the first month after the injury," stated Mazziotta.

"He said he would retire if he felt pain while recovering because he did not want to come back only half fit."

Ronaldo has been working hard in training and he is expected to make his debut for his Brazilian side soon.

More from Goal.comView from LA: Galaxy life without BeckhamSerie A preview: Inter Milan vs AC MilanValentine's day special: Dil-Vil Pyaar-Vyaar