Madrid, May 21 (IANS): Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo is certain he will finally shake off his muscle problems and be able to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League football final Saturday.
Ronaldo again set the alarm bells ringing when he pulled up during his warm up ahead of the last Primera Liga match of the season when Real Madrid beat Espanyol 3-1 last Saturday, reports Xinhua.
He has been struggling with a hamstring problem since the start of April and after missing the previous game, it was feared he may miss the biggest game of the season as Real Madrid challenge for their 10th Champions League title.
He has been training apart from his teammates, but in public at least, Ronaldo is confident he will be able to play.
"I want to help Real Madrid win such an important title. I am a lot better and although I am not 100 percent fit, I have started to run and I am feeling good and on Saturday I will be at my best. The most important thing is how I am on Saturday," he insisted.
Looking ahead to the game against the newly crowned SpanishPrimera Liga champions, Ronaldo considered that it "will be very difficult. Atletico have a lot of morale after winning the league and they have a lot of confidence."
"I think the game will be decided by small details and we hope that we make as few errors as possible," he said.
Ronaldo is just one of several injury worries for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. Striker Karim Benzema and central defender Pepe are both struggling to be fit. Speaking to the press Tuesday, Ancelotti said it was unlikely either would recover in time for the final.
Atletico Madrid also have injury problems with the Spanish press reporting Wednesday that striker Diego Costa has made a lightening journey to Serbia to treat the hamstring problem which looks likely to leave him sidelined for the big game.
Sports paper Diario AS, reports that Costa will undergo treatment with horse placenta in order to try and recover.