Ronaldo comeback lasts just 14 minutes

Twice World Player of the Year Ronaldo limped out of his Serie A comeback with a thigh injury after just 14 minutes on Sunday.

The appearance against Lecce at the San Siro was his first in the Italian league for almost two years.

After barely seeing the ball during the opening minutes, the Brazilian striker signalled to the bench and then left to receive attention from the medical staff before he was replaced by compatriot Adriano three minutes later.

Franco Combi, head of Inter's medical team said that Ronaldo had suffered a recurrence of thigh injury received in his last competitive appearance against Romanian club Brasov in the UEFA Cup in September.

"He has had a light recurrence in the bicept area of his left thigh. This slight discomfort is probably a small strain and he asked to come off as a precaution," Combi told the club's website.

Ronaldo continued to watch the game from the bench, treating his thigh with ice.

TROUBLESOME KNEE

There will be relief that Ronaldo's troublesome knee, operated on twice in the past two years, was not the cause of his latest false start.

Ronaldo's last Serie A game was also against Lecce on November 21, 1999. In that match Ronaldo scored Inter's fifth goal in a 6-0 win but later limped off with a knee injury which required surgery and kept him sidelined for five months.

The former Barcelona striker returned to action in the Italian Cup final against Lazio in April 2000, but ruptured a knee ligament just six minutes into a appearance as a second-half substitute.

That injury required another operation which kept him out of action until this summer when he took part in two pre-season friendlies, and he made his return to official action against Romanian side Brasov in the UEFA Cup first round on September 21.

But the Brazilian suffered the thigh injury in the second leg of the tie a week later, delaying his Serie A return.