Brazil’s Ronaldo Cleared to Play

Ronaldo recovered from another injury scare Thursday when doctors cleared him to start Brazil’s match against Australia. He had been taken to a clinic at Koenigstein, Germany, a day earlier complaining of dizziness.

Brazil doctor Jose Luiz Runco said Ronaldo was examined as a precaution, and Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira confirmed that the striker would be in the team’s starting lineup for Sunday’s match in Munich.

Runco said Ronaldo was taken to a medical clinic Wednesday after feeling dizzy for the second time in less than a week.

He went through a stretching session early Thursday at the team’s base outside Frankfurt and was put through some running drills in the afternoon. Ronaldo fell ill the morning after Brazil’s opening 1-0 win over Croatia, when he was substituted in the 69th minute after a dismal performance.

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Team Turmoil can’t get any rest.

Otto Pfister, who quit last weekend as Togo’s coach and then rejoined his team hours before Tuesday’s loss to South Korea, is considering legal action against a senior Togolese federation official who accused him of being a drunkard and a traitor.

“It is a serious attack against me,” Pfister said Thursday. “I am one of the people who doesn’t drink alcohol. I don’t even drink beer.”

Team doctors said defender Ludovic Assemoassa, injured in the match against South Korea, would be out for up to a year because of a torn right knee ligament. The doctors added that they were awakened at 6 a.m. by an unannounced FIFA doping control on four players. All tests were negative, they said.