Ronaldo set to make Man Utd return

Portugal and Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, seen here in July 2006. Ronaldo looked set to make his first appearance for the club since an eventful World Cup in which he dazzled on the pitch but was roundly booed by fans.

Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo looked set to make his first appearance for the club since an eventful World Cup in which he dazzled on the pitch but was roundly booed by fans.

The 21-year-old was initially reported to have been left out of the United squad to play lowly Oxford United on Tuesday evening, but he was seen boarding the team bus before it drove to Oxford's Kassam Stadium.

If Ronaldo does make it onto the pitch it will be his first domestic game since he enraged England fans at the World Cup by seemingly trying to ensure United team-mate Wayne Rooney was sent off during a turbulent England-Portugal quarter final.

Despite excellent form for Portugal, Ronaldo was even booed by fans from other nations during his country's two subsequent games in the tournament.

Although he and Rooney reportedly patched up any disagreements, there were a series of reports that the Portuguese winger wanted to leave United to join Real Madrid. This was dismissed last week as "speculation" by United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.