THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADRID, Spain — Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out for up to four weeks because of an ankle injury.
The Spanish club said Sunday that scans confirmed Ronaldo had severely sprained his right ankle while playing for Portugal in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. Portugal, with 16 points, leads third-place Sweden by one point. Portugal has a World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday against Malta.
Madrid lost its first match of the season last week to Sevilla with Ronaldo missing the match due to injury.
The 24-year-old Ronaldo was the world player of the year last year and cost Madrid a record US$136 million from Manchester United in the off-season.