Ronaldo no closer to return

There's no sign of improvement in Cristiano Ronaldo's ankle injury, leaving Portugal sweating on his fitness and Real Madrid continuing to make do without their marquee signing.

GettyImages

Portugal and Real Madrid are desperate for Cristiano Ronaldo's return.

Portugal will be desperate for their superstar winger to be ready for the nation's do or die World Cup qualifying play-off ties against Bosnia on November 14 and 18, while Real Madrid have only won two of their seven matches since Ronaldo's injury.

It is thought it could yet be another month before Ronaldo makes a comeback, ruling him out of the play-offs and crucial games for Real.

Ronaldo first sustained the problem during the Champions League match against Marseille in September and then aggravated it while playing for Portugal against Hungary.

Madrid confirmed on Wednesday that Ronaldo would be returning to consult Dutch ankle specialist Professor Niek van Dijk in the coming days regarding the injury. Van Dijk operated on Ronaldo's right ankle at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam in the summer of 2008.

Madrid would have been hoping the £80million summer signing from Manchester United would have made enough progress in his recovery to be available for this weekend's derby at Atletico Madrid, but after undergoing another test on the ankle, it was determined there had been no improvement.

That means the 24-year-old, who scored nine goals in helping Madrid win each of their opening seven competitive matches this season, cannot return to training and will continue undergoing treatment until another test is carried out.

Madrid are one point behind leaders Barcelona at the top of the Primera Division heading into this weekend's 10th round of fixtures.