‘Getting better every day’: Cristiano Ronaldo shares recovery update on hamstring injury

"Consistency is good, not obsession," he had revealed his fitness mantra in a previous interview.

Decoding Ronaldo’s road to recovery. (Source: Instagram/@cristiano)

4 min readNew DelhiApr 5, 2026 06:00 AM IST First published on: Apr 5, 2026 at 06:00 AM IST

Cristiano Ronaldo has been steadily recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained in February while playing in the Saudi Pro League against Al-Fayha. His club, Al Nassr, had confirmed the injury and announced that Ronaldo had begun his recovery. Since then, the footballer has been dedicating his time to muscle-strengthening and gym-based exercises as part of his recovery routine. In a recent Instagram update, he posted two pictures from the gym, captioning them, “Getting better every day.”

Decoding Ronaldo’s recovery routine

Ronaldo can be seen doing leg extensions in the picture, and fitness expert Garima Goyal said that they are a form of strength-training exercise that works the quadriceps and strengthens them.

“As you sit on a padded seat and raise the padded bar with your legs, it works the quadriceps muscles of the front of the thigh—the rectus femoris and the vastus muscles. You can use this exercise to build lower body strength and muscle definition as part of a strength training workout,” she explained.

A strong pair of quads also helps improve overall stability and balance, along with improving your performance of squats, deadlifts, and other lower-body strengthening exercises,” she said.

Leg extensions are open-chain kinetic exercises that target the large muscles on the front of the thighs — in fact, the legs aren’t stationary when they work. “While compound exercises engage multiple leg muscles, leg extensions provide significant isolated volume to the quads, resulting in optimal strength development in the legs,” Goyal added.

Ronaldo is recovering from a leg injury. (Source: Instagram/@cristiano)

As a part of the recovery routine, Goyal also shared that it enhances knee stability. “The biomechanics of leg extensions uses a torque force that causes you to push through your quads to straighten your knee. As a result, your patella and quadriceps knee attachment ligaments strengthen. Regularly performing leg extensions reinforces this biomechanic and helps to recover from as well as reduce your risk of injuries by improving your knee stability,” she told indianexpress.com.

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The other picture, not directly related to his hamstring recovery, hints at Ronaldo doing cable chest flies, or cable crossovers, that target his pectoral muscles. The cable machine provides resistance, which helps improve chest definition and strength, she added.

For Ronaldo, the most important thing is to stick to routine. “Consistency is good, not obsession,” he had revealed his fitness mantra in a previous interview, adding, “Don’t be like Cristiano, because Cristiano is crazy. Even my friends believe that I am sick to live that life. But for me, it is not a big deal. I do it in a comfortable way, a happy way.”

In line with the footballer’s admission, Goyal highlighted the importance of incorporating structured leg workouts into the weekly routine, whether recovering from an injury or not, as they support strength, mobility, and long-term quality of life.

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your fitness practitioner before starting any routine.