No rest for Ronaldo - yet
Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed he intends to give Cristiano Ronaldo a break at some point in the season - but not just yet.
The 19-year-old Manchester United star had a demanding summer, combining a run to the final of Euro 2004 with a relatively disappointing Olympic campaign and appeared to be showing signs of weariness during his 16th outing of the season for the club at Newcastle on Sunday.
There was no rest for Ronaldo this week after being called into Felipe Scolari´s national squad for the World Cup qualifier with Liechtenstein, leading to speculation that Ferguson might be tempted to take his £12m teenager out of the firing line.
Having been rewarded for handing his young winger a three-week break during his first season in England with a series of brilliant performances towards the end of the campaign, Ferguson admitted he intends following the same path this year.
But the Scot will resist the temptation of pulling the former Sporting Lisbon player out of the action too early and does not believe the time has arrived for Ronaldo to put his feet up.
" There is going to be a spell where Cristiano needs a rest," Ferguson told the Manchester Evening News.
" It is a question of picking the moment. Last year, we sent him home for a break at Christmas and we will have to see what we do this time.
" At the moment, I have no definite plans for him. He is okay just now but we will be assessing him all the time."
Ferguson could be tempted to leave Ronaldo out of Saturday´s Old Trafford clash with Charlton anyway given the need for maximum points to guarantee qualification for the Champions League knockout phase against Lyon next Tuesday.
Ryan Giggs is waiting to return after a couple of recent substitute appearances, while Darren Fletcher signalled his well being at St James´ Park with an excellent display on his surprise return to first-team action.
< <<< on est quand mal au point de ne pas pouvoir donner 15 jours ou une semaine de vacances a un gamin de 19 ans . .
ca fait peur