Ronaldinho Injured, Out for rest of Season

Brazilian star and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho will be out for the rest of the season after tearing a muscle in his right leg, Barcelona said in a release on Friday. The Brazilian suffered the injury in training on Thursday and scans carried out on Friday confirmed that he would be out of action for a couple of months.  The 28 year-old has been plagued by a succession of injury and fitness problems over the past year with local media reporting that the club want to offload him at the end of the season.

Ronaldinho's agent, his brother Robert de Assis, was photographed with AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani in the Italian media this week, prompting speculation that the Serie A side could be trying to recruit the Brazilian.  English media is also making a link between Ronaldinho and Manchester City of the English Premier League. The former World Player of the Year has been in the starting lineup in just 13 of Barcelona's 30 league matches and came off the bench in another four, scoring a total of eight goals.

Club president Joan Laporta has denied a rift with Ronaldinho but the news of his injury will only serve to heighten speculation about the player's future at the club. As well as the run-in to the end of the domestic season, Ronaldinho will also miss the rest of Barcelona's Champions League campaign starting with the quarterfinal second leg against German side Schalke this week.