Rio de Janeiro, Oct 1 (IANS): Ronaldinho has expressed his gratitude to Brazil President Dilma Rousseff as the former Barcelona star strives to regain his fitness ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup in December.

Ronaldinho ruptured the adductor muscle in his left groin while training with Brazilian outfit Atletico Mineiro last week, reports Xinhua.

As an avid Atletico Mineiro fan, Rousseff sent her encouragement to the two-time FIFA world player of the year via Twitter.

"My solidarity towards Ronaldinho, superstar of my Galo (Atletico's nickname)," Rousseff wrote. "Be strong, Ronaldinho!"

The 33-year-old replied by tweeting: "With support like that, my motivation only gets stronger. Thank you, President. I'm totally focused on my recuperation."

The Club World Cup, featuring each of FIFA's six continental club champions plus the host nation's league winners, will be played in Morocco from December 11 to 21.

Atletico Mineiro earned the right to play in the tournament by defeating Paraguay's Olimpia in the Copa Libertadores final in July. They are favourites to meet European champions Bayern Munich in the final.