Photo credit: AFP

Real Madrid’s hopes of Cristiano Ronaldo being fit for their Champions League semi-final, second leg with Manchester City on Wednesday were boosted as the Portuguese returned to training on Sunday.

Ronaldo has missed Real’s last three games due to a thigh injury, but may be risked against City with the tie finely balanced at 0-0.

“Cristiano Ronaldo worked with the group for the first half of the session, before training individually out on the pitch during the second half,” Madrid said in a statement.

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The three-time World Player of the Year has been in blistering form in the Champions League this season, scoring 16 goals in 10 appearances, including a hat-trick in the second leg of their quarter-final with Wolfsburg to overcome a 2-0 first leg deficit.

French striker Karim Benzema’s chances of recovering from a hamstring strain in the first leg look slimmer as he didn’t train with the rest of his teammates on Sunday.