AC Milan striker Ronaldo is being tipped to make his season's full debut in the Club World Cup Final in Japan on Sunday.
The Brazil legend, who pulled a calf muscle while warming up for a Champions League match on November 28, is eager to get his first taste of serious action this season.
He had a brief spell on the pitch earlier last month against Cagliari - his first appearance this season.
Despite persistent injury worries, the 31-year-old 'Phenomenon' is expected to be in the squad to face likely final opponents Boca Juniors of Argentina in Yokohama.
Milan midfield ace Andrea Pirlo said: ''He really, really wants to get back and we need him''.
''He's a player who can turn a game on its head in a flash''.
European champs Milan have won the tournament - formerly the Intercontinental Cup - twice in the last 20 years but most of the current crop of players will only remember the three defeats in the 1990s.
Milan goal-getter Filippo Inzaghi, who recently became UEFA's all-time top scorer, says he is determined to get on the score sheet in the one tournament he has yet to leave his mark on.
''I'll be going all out for the net,'' said the 34-year-old, whose two goals doomed Liverpool in the European Champions League Final in May.
Milan face Japanese champs Urawa Red Diamonds in the semis on Thursday while Boca meet Tunisia's Etoile Sahel a day earlier in Tokyo
The Club World Cup runs from December 7-16 in Japan and pits the champions of each continent in a straight knock-out tournament.
Barring major upsets, Milan and Boca Juniors, who beat the Italian side in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup Final, will meet in the final in Yokohama on Sunday.
Both sides won the South American-European Intercontinental Cup three times but never the three-year-old Club World Cup.
