Ronaldo first sustained the problem during the Champions League match against Marseille in September and then aggravated it while playing for Portugal against Hungary, forcing him to miss Madrid's last seven matches - of which the Spanish giants have won just two.

Madrid would have been hoping the £80million summer signing from Manchester United would have made enough progress in his recovery to be available for this weekend's derby at Atletico Madrid, but after undergoing another test on the ankle today, it was determined there had been no improvement.

That means the 24-year-old, who scored nine goals in helping Madrid win each of their opening seven competitive matches this season, cannot return to training and will continue undergoing treatment until another test is carried out.

Madrid are one point behind leaders Barcelona at the top of the Primera Division heading into this weekend's 10th round of fixtures.

Madrid confirmed today that Ronaldo would be returning to consult Dutch ankle specialist Professor Niek van Dijk in the coming days regarding the injury. Van Dijk operated on Ronaldo's right ankle at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam in the summer of 2008.