World Cup 2014 11am Bulletin: Ronaldo doubts eased

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Portugal's side in their final friendly

Injuries dominate discussions a day before the start of the World Cup, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez's condition improving...

Cristiano Ronaldo didn't even need to score to give Portugal an almighty lift on his return to the team in their final pre-World Cup friendly against Republic of Ireland in New York, playing the first 66 minutes of a 5-1 victory.

The Ballon d'Or holder had previously hurried back from injury to participate in Real Madrid's Champions League final triumph over Atletico Madrid, in which he appeared off the pace, and wasn't available for his country's subsequent two friendlies.

They lacked attacking impetus in his absence, drawing 0-0 with Greece and nicking a 1-0 win over Mexico, only to thrive with him back. A brace for likely starting striker Hugo Almeida - his first international strikes in 15 months - was almost as encouraging as Ronaldo's comeback itself.

Portugal are 1.548/15 to get out of Group G alongside one of Germany, USA and Ghana, a reasonable price given that they survived awkward pairings at both World Cup 2010 (Brazil and Ivory Coast) and Euro 2012 (Germany and Netherlands). However, it is a far steeper 3.7511/4 that they begin by beating Germany.

There has been a double injury blow for England in Group D. The first is that Danny Welbeck is now judged a doubt for the Three Lions' Saturday night opener against Italy due to a thigh problem sustained in training on Tuesday.

The Man United forward was considered a probable starter against the Azzurri, possibly earmarked for an Andrea Pirlo-pestering role, and is still available at 1.855/6 to make Roy Hodgson's XI, with a fitness update expected later on Wednesday.

The other ominous development for England was the footage of Luis Suarez looking lively in Uruguay training just weeks after knee surgery, accompanied by teammate Cristian Rodriguez's revelation that the Premier League top scorer is working "triple shifts" to accelerate his recovery.

Liverpool's star man - who amusingly noted recently that "emotionally, I've felt fine; psychologically, I've been spectacular" - was seen sprinting and dribbling.

While this weekend's clash with Costa Rica will likely come too soon, he will hope to be ready to face England and Italy, which is why he remains the 2.568/5 favourite to be top Uruguay goalscorer.

Beyond the injury front, Sepp Blatter's future has commanded much of the pre-World Cup attention, with his intention to stand for yet another term as FIFA president offending several UEFA suits, while his dance moves at a pre-tournament function offended everyone else.