Ronaldo to resume training with Inter

Ronaldo will resume training with Inter Milan on Monday and could make his return to full action later this month, his club said.

The Brazilian striker missed all of last season after undergoing a knee operation and returned to Milan at the weekend.

He is due to fly to Sardinia to take part in a mini-training camp with seven other Inter players before full pre-season preparation begins on July 15.

Inter's first pre-season friendly is against English first division club Watford on July 31 in the northern Italian town of Lecco.

While Ronaldo will be hoping to be involved in the warm-up games in order to be ready for the new Serie A campaign which kicks off on August 26, a club spokesman said it was too soon to judge whether the Brazilian would play against Watford.

"He's only just restarted training today -- we need a little bit more time. The game (against Watford) isn't until the 31st and team preparation for that game won't begin until the 15th, so there's quite a lot of time yet," said the spokesman.

"But he's back in training and that's what counts. We'll have to see closer to the time."

Ronaldo's last comeback from injury lasted just six minutes when he came on as a substitute in the Italian Cup final against Lazio in April 1999 and suffered a horrific knee injury leading to an operation and over a year of rehabilitation work.

The Brazilian says he is looking forward to reforming his partnership with Inter's Italy international striker Christian Vieri, who has also suffered with injuries in the past two seasons.

There has been constant media speculation in Italy suggesting that Vieri could leave Inter and return to his former club Juventus, but Ronaldo said he is sure that Vieri would stay at the San Siro.

"I have no fear that he will leave. They have been talking about this approach for a while but I am sure that Bobo (Vieri) will stay at Inter with me and that we will do well together in order to repay our fans for two years of waiting.

"I am convinced that is what he also desires," Ronaldo told the daily Gazzetta dello Sport.

The pair, who became the world's most expensive strike partnership when Vieri moved from Lazio in the summer of 1999, have been restricted to just 119 minutes on the field together in two seasons.