MADRID, Spain (AP) _ Ronaldinho's muscle injury may be the least
of his problems.
The FC Barcelona midfielder has come under scrutiny after
supposedly staying out late and breaking curfew, leading the Spanish
media to doubt the legitimacy of the strain that will likely
sideline him from the team's Spanish league game against Zaragoza on
Wednesday.
``He spoke with the coach, who believed him,'' said Ronaldinho's
brother and agent, Roberto de Assis. ``From here on, there's nothing
more to say except that (Frank) Rijkaard believes in him.''
But despite the absence of Ronaldinho _ he also missed Saturday's
2-1 win over Sevilla _ Lionel Messi has scored three goals in the
last two games to keep the Catalan club surging.
Real Madrid leads the standings with 10 points from four matches,
one better than both Valencia and Villarreal. Barcelona is fourth
with eight points.
Yaya Toure, Ronaldinho's teammate, is expecting Barcelona to
overcome the saga and get back to worrying about soccer.
``The truth is that all of these criticisms of Ronaldinho . . .
have surprised me a little,'' Toure said. ``We are talking about a
great player and I'm convinced this will all be a thing of the past
soon enough.''
On Sunday, Javier Saviola scored an 87th-minute goal for Madrid
to salvage a 1-1 draw at Valladolid, a positive result ahead of
Thursday's match against winless Real Betis.
``This team showed it never throws in the towel,'' Madrid forward
Gonzalo Higuain said. ``It's a draw that allows us to continue as
leaders and at the same time gives us more confidence.''
Leading scorer Wesley Sneijder missed the match with a minor
injury but could return against Betis, while centre backs Pepe and
Christoph Metzelder remain questionable.
Betis, which spent 20 million euros (C$28.2 million) on
off-season signings and hired a new coach to avoid another fight
against the drop, is struggling.
``I have no doubt that there's a solution to this,'' Betis coach
Hector Cuper said. ``Better exists, it's just coming slowly.''
Valencia and Villarreal look to stay with Madrid after
hard-fought wins.
Valencia hosts winless Getafe while Villarreal travels to Racing
Santander, which is coming off a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid.
Atletico trailed only Madrid in summer spending and its revamped
squad finally came through with a barrage of goals that coach Javier
Aguirre was waiting for. Up next is Athletic Bilbao.
``The team has changed its attitude and showed it on the field,''
Atletico midfielder Jose Antonio Reyes said.
The grind of playing both in Europe and in Spain is taking its
toll on Sevilla, which hosts Espanyol on Tuesday.
Strikers Frederic Kanoute and Adriano, right back Daniel Alves
and goalkeeper Andres Palop are all doubtful with minor injuries as
the Champions League workload wears Sevilla down.
``The only problem is we can't let up,'' Kanoute said. ``The game
against Espanyol is the perfect one to take more confidence from.''
Also Wednesday, it's Osasuna versus Levante, Murcia versus
Almera, Mallorca versus Valladolid, and Deportivo La Coruna versus
Recreativo Huelva.
