Cristiano Ronaldo is confident he can return to full training by the middle of this week after suffering with an ankle injury.
The winger picked up the problem in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Marseille in the UEFA Champions League at the end of September and has not played for his club since.
Despite concerns for his fitness the 24-year-old turned out for Portugal just a few days later in what was a must-win World Cup qualifier but the former Manchester United star lasted less than half-an-hour and further aggravated the injury.
Ronaldo has been the subject of a high-profile club versus country tug-of-war as questions over his perceived fitness were asked as Portugal prepared for their crucial World Cup play-off encounter with Bosnia before the Ј80million man was eventually ruled out.
"The most important thing for me is to return when I am at 100 per cent," he told AS .
"Let's see what happens but around the middle of this week I am confident I will already be working with my team-mates.
"This week I will have another test to see if I am fit but the recovery is well on track."
If Ronaldo is successful in proving his fitness he could find himself selected for the home game against Racing Santander on Saturday.
a.top_betting_link_1 {background-image: url('/Images/skysports/fixturecal/icons/fix-bet.gif');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;padding-left:18px;}La Liga 2009/10 Win Outright: Real Madrid 7/4Ronaldo recovering wellMarshall hoping to be ready for second leg
