Now that Real Madrid’s megastar Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out by doctors for the first leg of Portugal’s World Cup 2010 playoffs against Bosnia Herzegovina, Chelsea’s Deco (pictured in the foreground) has an excellent chance to lead the Portuguese to victory and continue his recent ascent in the FTBL ranking.

Deco’s overall FTBL score has dropped from the approximately 125 points he boasted in late October to 95.86 points at the moment. Yet this still represents an improvement compared with the numbers the Portuguese international had in mid-August (approximately 58 points).

Deco will go into the game against the Bosnians with a bonus of 1 rating point, which he dropped in the Blues 1:2 surprise loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League. He is virtually certain to join the Top 23 of the Premier League after the game, of course provided the Portuguese do not lose.