After carrying out its own medical examination, the Portuguese Football Federation concluded today that cristiano Ronaldo "is not fit to play" for his country in the world cup play-offs against Bosnia on Saturday and next Wednesday.

The Real Madrid star, who is currently recovering from an ankle sprain he suffered on September 30th and which he then made worse by playing for his country on October 10th, travelled to Lisbon today after finally being released by his club.

The Portuguese Football Federation had insisted on carrying out its own medical examination of the striker, despite having already received the medical reports from his club and from the Dutch specialist, Dr Van Dijk, who is overseeing his treatment.

After the examination early this afternoon, the Portuguese Federation admitted that Ronaldo was not fit to play and wished him a "complete and speedy recovery".

Ronaldo headed back to Madrid straight after the medical examination in Lisbon, leaving the rest of his team mates to fight for a place in the 2010 World Cup finals. Amongst the players called up for international duty are a number of Portuguese who play in Spain, including Pepe (Real Madrid), Edinho and Duda (Málaga), Simao (Atlético de Madrid) and Miguel (Valencia).