Injuries

Here at The18, we’re starting a movement. Lasting change has only ever been achieved when like-minded people come together to advocate or protest. In solidarity, we’re going to stop the flop.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Real Madrid training on Wednesday with his fitness still a major concern for Real supporters. Ronaldo injured his knee during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final victory over France, and there’s still no firm timetable for his return.

The injury that forced Cristiano Ronaldo to withdraw from the Euro 2016 final may cause him to miss Real Madrids opening La Liga match against Real Sociedad. With the game coming on the 21st of August, Ronaldo is a major doubt for Los Blancos.

Ronaldo has been given an extended break following his exertions in France, but the forward would’ve been unable to train with Real even if he’d wanted to. Ronaldo sprained his left knee in the final against France, and there’s no confirmed date for his return.

As far as debuts go, this is about as bad as it can get. We’re sure Jeremy Menez would’ve rather been sent off or scored an own goal in his Bordeaux bow, but he’s lost an ear. 

The 29-year-old transferred from AC Milan to Bordeaux, in his native France, and made his debut for the club against Lorient. Lorient midfielder Didier Ndong promptly asserted himself as the Mike Tyson to Menez’s Evander Holyfield, stepping on his head and tearing his ear off.

This is not a pretty sight.

Former Chelsea and Newcastle United striker Demba Ba has suffered a horrific leg injury while playing with Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League. The Senegalese striker transferred from Turkish club Besiktas to Shanghai last summer for £11.3 million and is currently leading the CSL with 14 goals in 18 matches. 

However, Ba’s career now appears to be in jeopardy after he suffered a gruesome injury following a challenge in a derby match between Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG on Sunday. 

The following video is certainly not for the faint of heart. 

Ronaldo out after an injury to his left knee. These are words that any fan of team Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo did not want to hear in the Euro 2016 final versus France. Least of all the Madrid man himself.

After an early challenge in which Dimitri Payet collided with Ronaldo, impacting his left knee, the Portugal captain went down clearly in pain.

We know it as the beautiful game. And yet, soccer has had more than its share of horrible moments. 

Argentina bulldozed team USA Tuesday, but it wasn’t all rainbows for La Albiceleste in Houston. Forward Ezequiel Lavezzi had a good game for Argentina. He netted the first goal of the match and was helping the visitors control the tempo of the game and dominate the American squad. 

Uruguay's Copa America odds took an unexpected hit Wednesday when coach Oscar Tabarez revealed star striker Luis Suarez will not be available tonight against Venezuela and may be out for the entire tournament.

From Yahoo:

"Luis Suarez is still in recovery, it's the 17th day, and he is still not ready. That being the case, he will not play," Tabarez told a press conference on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi will not play in Argentina's Copa America Centenario opener against Chile, according to a report from AS. Messi sustained a back injury during Argentina's warmup game against Honduras, and it appears that the Chile match comes too soon for the Barcelona star. 

England took on Portugal today in an internatinoal friendly. The match was really more of a tune-up game for the imminent Euro 2016 tournament than anything else, and so both sides were looking to learn more about their players, try out some new things, and generally just finish off the day better than they started it.

Except for Bruno Alves. Bruno Alves almost killed Harry Kane.