Ronaldo leaves Euro 2016 final in tears with knee injury

Cristiano Ronaldo's worst nightmare came to pass in the early moments of Sunday's Euro 2016 final against France, as the Portuguese captain was forced to leave the match with an apparent knee injury.

In tears, Ronaldo attempted to play through the ailment, his knee heavily wrapped as he made a valiant return to the contest after being on the end of an awkward tackle from Dimitri Payet.

But it was to no avail.

After a couple of gingerly runs, the Selecao captain ripped off his armband, crumpled to the pitch and was promptly stretchered off in the 25th minute.

He was replaced by Ricardo Quaresma.

Ronaldo, 31, has been lauded throughout his goal-laden career for his incredible durability, the physical specimen rarely missing time for either rest or injury for both club and country.

He hadn't been substituted at a major international tournament since the 2006 World Cup.

The unfortunate injury ends Ronaldo's bid to break Michel Platini's all-time European Championship scoring record, as the Portuguese captain came into Sunday's final tied with the French icon on nine tallies.

In his absence, someone from the Selecao will need to pick up the scoring slack.