Ronaldinho ready to return

Amidst reports that Ronaldinho was spotted nightclubing 48 hours before Barcelona's game with Osasuna, and reports that Ronaldinho may leave to Chelsea, Barcelona have announced that Ronaldinho will return on Tuesday for the Champions League match against VfB Stuttgart.

Barcelona's official line is that a calf strain has kept the 27-year-old out of the last two matches, a 2-1 win over Sevilla last Saturday and Wednesday's 4-1 win over Real Zaragoza.

"The absence of the player is down strictly to medical criteria," the club said Wednesday.

Spanish media continue to claim, however, that Barcelona are tired of the 2005 Footballer of the Year's relatively poor form while the player himself is said to be upset about repeated gossip regarding his private life.

Ronaldinho's brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, admitted the player had experienced "a difficult period" and didn't rule out a possible departure despite his contract until 2010.

"Leave Barcelona? In football things change fast. But at Barcelona he has an idyllic life, but that's not to say he will never want to leave," Assis told the daily AS Sport.