Cristiano Ronaldo could return Wednesday

AP Photo/Helder Santos

It’s a good morning for Manchester United fans, as Cristiano Ronaldo appears set to return early from his ankle surgery and could play Wednesday during Champions League action against Villarreal at Old Trafford.  Reds fans are no doubt wishing he could’ve made it back in time for Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield when United struggled to keep possession.

With Ronaldo back on the wing sparking defensive chaos with his trademark runs from the midfield, the offense (which scored one goal in each of the three EPL games he missed) should get back on track. It will be interesting now to see where Wayne Rooney fits in. With Ronaldo back, and Carlos Tevez playing just back a little of Dimitar Berbatov up front, Rooney will have to mark out his role on this squad. Against Liverpool he played a little more like Ronaldo on the right (although going back deeper on defense) by picking the ball up around midfield and producing the most danger with some runs from that area toward the box.

For anyone who forgot the past few months, this could be Ronaldo’s Old Trafford debut after a summer that saw him ask for a transfer to Real Madrid before Sir Alex shut down all such thoughts. This Soccernet article quotes him as saying: “When I play the fans will love me again.” That’s probably true (although there are less arrogant ways to say that when you turned your back on those supporters this summer). You have to imagine the initial reception won’t be pretty, although surely they’ll have kissed and made up by the end of the first goal celebration.

And let’s just end this post on this article with quotes from Ronaldo about awards in European football. The man has confidence if nothing else, and he’s certainly not afraid to let people know what he thinks of his contributions to the game.