Ronaldo returns for Real Madrid

9/10/2010 09:30:34 AM

MADRID – Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, sidelined by an ankle injury since the end of August, will play at home against Osasuna on Saturday, coach Jose Mourinho said Friday.

"Cristiano Ronaldo will be a starter. I am afraid of the possibility he may get injured again. I am afraid someone may hit him, but that's normal in football," he told a news conference on the eve of his Spanish league debut at Real's Bernabeu stadium.

"He has been training at least five hours a day. The medical staff and the player say he's 100 percent fit to play, so he has the same risk of getting injured as the rest of his team-mates," he added.

"He will play because he is fit and because it will be a difficult game."

Real had said the Portuguese winger -- the world's most expensive player -- would be out for three weeks after taking a knock to the right ankle during the 0-0 draw against Real Mallorca on August 29.

The former Manchester United star had said on Wednesday that he was almost recovered and might be fit in time for his club's first Champions League group phase match against Ajax on September 15.

Ronaldo missed Portugal's shock 4-4 draw with minnows Cyprus in a Euro 2012 qualifier on September 3 and the team's 1-0 loss to Norway four days later.