By Chris Burton Last updated: 7th July 2008
Ronaldo: Dutch surgery
Cristiano Ronaldo will undergo surgery on his problematic right ankle on Monday.
The Manchester United ace is set to have the operation in Amsterdam in an attempt to cure an injury which has been causing him pain for some time.
The Portuguese superstar had initially delayed going under knife in order to go on holiday following his exploits at Euro 2008, but has accepted that it has now become a necessity.
United had hoped that the winger would be able to recover from the knock without the need for surgery, but have been given no further option.
The news that the 23-year-old will be sidelined throughout their pre-season preparations will come as a major blow to the club, especially as Real Madrid's interest in the player continues to linger on.
Having Ronaldo back in England, and back in the first-team fold, would have allowed Sir Alex Ferguson to delve deeper into the forward's motives this summer.
However, the procedure is expected to keep him out of action for up to six weeks, taking him through to a week before the start of the 2008/09 season.
A spokesman for the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, where the operation will take place, confirmed that Ronaldo had arrived at the hospital and that he would likely be allowed home on Tuesday.
"He should be operated on this morning (Monday) or maybe at the moment as we speak, I'm not sure exactly," Johan Kortenray told L'Equipe.
"He arrived here yesterday evening to be examined. He'll be able to return home tomorrow."

Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Fuller and Sorensen
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Defoe
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Pulis
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Shreeves' blog
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Hart
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Redknapp
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Martinez
Bolton 0-2 Blackburn - Megson
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Everton |
| 20:00 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Sunderland |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:00 | Wolverhampton vs Birmingham |
| 13:30 | Everton vs Liverpool |
| 16:00 | Arsenal vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Portsmouth vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Wolverhampton vs Bolton |
| 17:30 | Man City vs Chelsea |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 0 - 2 Blackburn | |
| Tottenham 9 - 1 Wigan | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Man City | |
| Hull 3 - 3 West Ham | |
| Sunderland 1 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Chelsea 4 - 0 Wolverhampton | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Everton | |
| Birmingham 1 - 0 Fulham | |
| Burnley 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Stoke | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Fulham | |
| Chelsea 1 - 0 Man Utd | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Everton | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Blackburn 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Tottenham 2 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 4 Arsenal | |
| Man City 3 - 3 Burnley | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 13 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 13 | 28 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 12 | 25 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 13 | 22 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 12 | 21 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 13 | 20 |
| 8 | Sunderland | 13 | 20 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 13 | 19 |
| 10 | Burnley | 13 | 17 |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 12 | 16 |
| 12 | Fulham | 12 | 15 |
| 13 | Birmingham City | 13 | 15 |
| 14 | Everton | 12 | 15 |
| 15 | Wigan Athletic | 13 | 14 |
| 16 | Hull City | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 13 | 11 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 12 | 11 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 | 10 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 13 | 7 |
Skysports.com looks at the best and worst moments from the latest round of top-flight fixtures.
Take a look back at what Liverpool and Man City fans had to say following a 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Bristol City fan Hannah Shine was strutting her as the Soccerette in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Jermain Defoe helped himself to five goals as Tottenham demolished Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane to move into fourth spot in the table.
Paul Hart played down the injury to David James prior to Portsmouth's 1-0 defeat to Stoke on Sunday.
Stoke collected all three points against Portsmouth thanks to a late strike from Ricardo Fuller.
Bolton squandered the chance to climb out of the bottom three as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Blackburn.
Tony Pulis put Stoke's poor first-half performance against Portsmouth at the Britannia Stadium down to nerves.