Tendonitis To Rule Kaka Out Of Pre-Season

The chronic injury was largely responsible for Ronaldinho's troubles last season and has also prevented Owen Hargreaves from playing as regularly as he would have liked for Manchester United during their double-winning season.

Milan's official website have revealed that the World Player of the Year will undergo specialist treatment in the coming days following “a persistent inflammation of the left knee", with the 26-year-old having to be withdrawn during Friday's loss to Sevilla.

There are already fears that, given this was the same knee that caused him to miss most of last season, the attacking midfielder may endure a similarly torrid campaign this year.

With Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato at the Olympics and Marco Borriello ruled out for two months, Kaka's presence is crucial to the Rossoneri in the early goings of this season, with even Filippo Inzaghi struggling with muscle problems.

Youngster Alberto Paloschi is currently the only fully fit striker available to coach Carlo Ancelotti, with O Globo contending that Kaka will need at least two weeks to fully recover from the injury.

Tendonitis is a notoriously persistent injury and often, once diagnosed, can rarely be permanently cured.

Santino Santoro, Goal.com