Ronaldo ready to make Real Madrid return against Spurs

The news that all Spurs fans feared - yet expected - was all but confirmed by Jose Mourinho at his press conference today.

The Real Madrid boss claimed last Friday that Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo would not play against Tottenham in the Champions League quarter-final tomorrow night.

Harry Redknapp laughed off the suggestion and it appears he was right to be sceptical. Club sources confirmed today that Ronaldo was "99 per cent certain" to play at the Bernabeu.

When asked about Ronaldo's involvement after the winger missed Saturday's home defeat with Sporting Gijon with a muscle strain, Mourinho refused to rule his star man out of the game.

He said: "I don't know we have to wait a little. After training we will have the list of those that have been called up - if I were sure then I would be able to tell you but at 5pm we will have the list and we will know if they are there or not."

The game has grown in importance for Real, though, following Mourinho's first domestic defeat in a league game at home since 2002. His position is already under scrutiny and his chances of seeing out his three-year contract would now appear to rest on the Champions League.