Arsenal's medical team have announced they expect Cesc Fabregas to "comfortably" recover from a fractured leg in time to represent Spain at the World Cup finals this summer, while Robin van Persie is heading a list of three players returning to full training.
Fabregas was quickly ruled out of the remainder of Arsenal's season after suffering the injury when winning a penalty from Carles Puyol in the first leg of the club's Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Barcelona.
It was feared that Fabregas, who in 2006 became the youngest player to represent Spain at a World Cup, would be a real doubt for Vicente del Bosque's side. Although the midfielder played fewer minutes than Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso in qualifying he is a prominent member of the team and started the Euro 2008 final against Germany.
Arsenal physio Colin Lewin expects Fabregas to easily prove his fitness for the finals in South Africa though, and has strongly denied suggestions that the midfielder went into the Barcelona game carrying the serious injury.
"Cesc is doing well," Lewin told the club's official website. "He is likely to be out for the rest of the season with a hairline crack of his fibula. If everything goes well he will comfortably make the World Cup and we will be constantly monitoring him.
"The injury was certainly as a result of the tackle by Carles Puyol at the end of the Barcelona game. There were some ill-informed media reports that the fracture was sustained before the Barcelona game and those reports, put simply, were untrue. He suffered heavy bruising in the Birmingham City game but to suggest that someone can run around for 85 minutes against Barcelona with a fractured fibula is just farcical.
"We examined Cesc after the Birmingham game and he had suffered heavy bruising. The x-rays confirmed that there was no fracture. At the end of the Barcelona match, following the challenge from Puyol, Cesc had an x-ray to determine the damage. It showed a hairline crack, which unfortunately means Cesc will miss the rest of the season."
There is better news on the medical front for Arsenal though with striker Van Persie on the brink of returning to full-time training. Van Persie has not played since suffering ankle ligament damage in an international friendly in November but could play some part in the remainder of the season, as well as the World Cup finals with Netherlands.
Defenders Kieran Gibbs and Johan Djourou, who have been recovering from long-term foot and knee injuries respectively, will also returning to training in the next fortnight.
"Robin will be joining the squad for full training imminently," Lewin said. "That is a big boost for the club and to see Johan and Kieran training with the team in the next fortnight will give everyone a big lift.
"Johan Djourou had a difficult problem with the cartilage in his knee joint. He has made virtually a full recovery and we expect him to train fully with the squad within the next fortnight, as will Kieran Gibbs. They have both made full recoveries from what could have been career-threatening injuries."
On Aaron Ramsey, who suffered a horrific leg break against Stoke City at the end of February, Lewin said: "Aaron will make a full recovery. Other footballers have suffered a similar injury. The surgery went very well and the early signs are very good. We don't expect Aaron to return until the early autumn.
"He has some metalwork in there and that provides the stability for the fracture. The specialists have encouraged him to walk and this weight-bearing will aid the fracture healing. It's early days but the signs are very good."
