Ronaldinho misses Brazil friendly

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LONDON, England -- Ronaldinho is injured and will miss Brazil's 60,000 sell-out game with Portugal at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

Portugal won the last meeting of the sides 2-1 in a friendly in March 2003 and Brazil's chances of hitting back at their old rivals have been hampered by Ronaldinho's withdrawal.

The Barcelona playmaker, who has started only once in five internationals since Dunga replaced Carlos Alberto Parreira as Brazil coach in August, is suffering from a calf muscle problem.

PSV Eindhoven defender Alex Rodrigo will also miss the game with a thigh injury but Dunga, defending an unbeaten record as Brazil coach, has decided not to call up replacements.

He has recalled striker Adriano for the first time since the World Cup but there was again no room in the squad for out-of-sorts Ronaldo, who has just joined AC Milan.

Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolare, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, is going into the match with the same mind-set he would have for any other game.

"It will only be a warm-up for the games in March," Scolari told reporters in Portugal.

"It is great for us to grow more before we face Belgium and Serbia (in Euro 2008 qualifying games) and gain a little more confidence."

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is in the form of his life after scoring his 15th league goal this term in Manchester United's 4-0 Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Despite his fantastic recent displays, Scolari thinks the winger can get even better as he matures.

"Today he is one of the great players in the world but for him to be considered one of the best five he still needs to grow a little," he said.

Ronaldo, the darling of the Portugal fans, told reporters that while playing the world's top-ranked side was an big challenge, given the choice he would rather beat the Serbians and Belgians.

"This is a friendly and I hope that the fans will cheer for a good spectacle, good football," added Ronaldo, when asked how he felt about being jeered by English fans since his Portugal side eliminated England in the World Cup quarterfinals and he had a controversial part in Wayne Rooney's sending-off.

Ronaldo, who was 22 on Monday, said he asked not to have any celebration of his birthday out of respect for Carlos Silva, the vice-president of the Portuguese Football Federation who died on Sunday.

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