Raúl defiant as he still targets title

Raúl González said Real Madrid CF can still win the Spanish league after learning he will not need surgery on a knee injury.

Ligament damage
The Madrid and Spain captain faces up to four months out after damaging his left kneecap and cruciate ligaments during Saturday's 3-0 Primera División home defeat by FC Barcelona. However, he sounded a note of defiance as he appeared at a press conference today.

FIFA World Cup dream
"I can see myself winning a title with Real Madrid at the end of the season and playing in the [FIFA] World Cup," said Raúl, who walked around the club’s training ground on crutches. "I'm eager to get started with my rehabilitation now, the most important thing is for it to go well little by little," he said.

'I heard my knee crack'
Raúl sustained the injury as he attempted a shot in the second half of Saturday’s game. "Just when I was going to kick the ball, it moved and then I heard my knee crack." Raúl must now wait until spring at the earliest to make his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance. He had been enjoying a successful season with five league goals and two in the UEFA Champions League before the injury, the most serious of his ten-year career.