Cristiano Ronaldo, The Return

The Manchester United star made his comeback as a sub in the Champions League stalemate against Villarreal.

It was his first appearance since ankle surgery in July.

He is now set to start Sunday’s showdown at Chelsea and reckons he will be able to cope with anything the Blues defence throws at him.

The Portuguese winger said: “I know that the attempts to intimidate me on the pitch will start again immediately — but everyone finds sooner or later that it is difficult to make me lose my rag.

“I’ll be booted again but I will not kick out when it happens. I’m tough and, again, it’s all just part of the spectacle.

“I’ll do my damage as usual by paying them all back with my goals.”

United have only won once in six games this season — but Ronaldo is refusing to press the panic button.

He said: “There’s no problem at all with our form. Last year we started like this, look how we ended up!”

Darren Fletcher believes Ronaldo can help get the Red Devils’ season going.

The Scotland midfielder said: “Ronaldo is the best player in the world and any team would miss him.

“Obviously, it was the first game since his injury and he’s got back quicker than was expected. That’s down to his dedication and professionalism.

“He came on, had a chance and he looked sharp. Hopefully, he can kick-start our season.”

Ronaldo tried to quit United in the summer in a world record transfer to Real Madrid.

It turned many United fans against him and there was initially a muted response to his appearance on the bench.

But after a poor opening hour in the first Champions League group game against the Yellow Submarines from Villarreal, the 75,000 inside Old Trafford realised how much they needed him.

For the first time since Moscow, the chant of ‘Viva Ronaldo’ went up and he was given a deafening welcome when he came on in the 62nd minute.

Fletcher added: “You heard the crowd’s reception when he came on. Everyone is glad to have him back.”