Ronaldo was not ready to play a friendly for Corinthians as his club debut, said team doctor Joaquim Grava on Tuesday.

Ronaldo's missing of the club's first friendly match of the year was bad news for the club's marketing department, who were hopeful that the player would be in form to play against the Argentinean team of Boca Juniors on Jan. 17.

"In this friendly, Ronaldo will not play. I am doubtful that the match will even take place. If we continue our work with Ronaldo, the player should be ready to make his debut on the field in the first week of February," said Grava.

The idea of the friendly match was proposed by the team's director of marketing, Luis Paulo Rosenburg. The directors' intention was to bring the Argentinean team to Sao Pauloto mark the return of Ronaldo to Brazilian soccer. However, the athlete's return will have to wait for the Sao Paulo state championship to end.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2008)