Matteo: Knee problem (MichaelSteele/Allsport)

Matteo has been playing through the pain barrier, and although earning Venables' praise for giving his all to Leeds' cause, it is a problem which caught up with him during the victory over Manchester United nine days ago.

The 28-year-old was unable to play on after half-time, and ultimately missed the UEFA Cup win over Ukrainian side Metalurg Zaporizhya last Thursday, as well as yesterday's disappointing 1-0 defeat at Blackburn.

By his own admission Matteo has barely trained this season and continues to undergo treatment in the hope he will be fit for Saturday's high-noon showdown with reigning Premiership champions and current leaders Arsenal at Elland Road.

While the injury is obviously a concern, Venables does not believe Matteo will need to go under the knife as he said: `He's had this injury, as everyone knows, since the beginning of the season.

`He's played with injuries and then the game with Manchester United came up quickly and he couldn't play in the second half.

`Everyone wants to play and to be involved, but sometimes you can't get beyond the problems of injuries.

`Hopefully he won't need an operation. No-one has mentioned that as yet, but I think he will be fine.'

Striker Michael Bridges has been given the all-clear to resume training this week following a scare at the weekend which also ruled him out of the Ewood Park clash.

Bridges finally returned to first-team action against Zaporizhya, setting up Alan Smith for the only goal, after two years on the sidelines with Achilles and primarily knee injuries, the latter requiring career-saving surgery.

The 24-year-old had expressed his delight at being back in the side, only to then sustain another knee injury in training on Saturday, albeit not the joint on which he required the operation.

Following a further examination today by physio Dave Hancock, Bridges could be on the bench for the Gunners clash as Venables added: `We were warming up and he turned in what was a very innocuous situation and his knee became sore.

`We weren't sure at first, but it's now nothing to worry about and he should be training this week.'

Winger Harry Kewell, meanwhile, remained at home today as he continues to struggle with sickness and diarrhoea which made his 24th birthday yesterday a miserable one.

Australia international winger Kewell was another casualty forced to miss the game against Rovers, with Venables stating: `His loss was a big blow to us.

`He woke up yesterday morning with sickness and so forth and looked dreadful. So we rang his brother who picked him up and took him home.

`It was a disappointment to lose him, but I'm sure there was no-one more disappointed than he is.'