Sir Alex Ferguson will not rush Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to full match sharpness, so much so that he is considering whether to leave the Portuguese winger on the bench against Celtic on Tuesday.

The Reds boss paid tribute to Ronaldo’s personal characteristics and his athletic attributes, saying that he is capable of raising his game on demand. But his ability to recover from a Saturday game for a Tuesday Champions League tie are perhaps not yet at their usual superhuman levels – the after effects of a summer without training due to an ankle surgery.

“He’s coming along terrifically well,” said the United manager. “It’s almost there. With 20 minutes to go on Saturday when Gary Neville went on, I said to Gary, ‘ask Ronaldo how he is’. I thought he was showing signs of tiring.

“Gary asked him and Ronaldo said, ‘I think it’s time to come off’. Five minutes later he told Gary, ‘I’m feeling good now’. Maybe the fact that Gary told him he might be coming off lifted him a bit. You find that with the type of human being, the type of athlete he is. He will find something. When he needs it he finds it.

“One touch and he could score. He has got such a talent in the box. I think he’ll win the Ballon d’Or. If he doesn’t win it, I want to sign the guy who does.”

Ronaldo played in both Portugal matches during the recent round of World Cup qualifiers. It prompted a conversation between Sir Alex and his former assistant, now Portugal manager, Carlos Queiroz.

“I spoke to Carlos [Queiroz] and asked him what he thought [about Ronaldo’s match fitness]. He said he thought Cristiano was still finding it hard to recover from a Saturday game to play on a Wednesday. Carlos thought he was