Luis Suarez can expect to return to action in time for Uruguay's meeting with England on June 18, according to one of the UK's leading orthopaedic consultants.
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Suarez had to undergo an operation to remove damaged meniscus from his left knee this week but insisted he would be fit in time for the World Cup.
It is just over three weeks until Uruguay kick off their tournament in Brazil against Costa Rica and, while there were fears he could miss the entire tournament, there is optimism he could be training again in little over two weeks.
Simon Moyes, a specialist in arthroscopic surgery and sports injuries working out of both Wellington and London Bridge hospitals, certainly expects Suarez to be in action by the time Uruguay face England in Sao Paulo.
Moyes said: "I think we can expect him to be playing for that, but whether he will be 100 percent I'm not too sure. With a following wind he will be playing in the World Cup but he may not be quite up to normal calibre.
"The external or lateral meniscus, as we call them, does take longer than the medial meniscus. They normally take six weeks but these professional footballers are slightly different creatures to other people -- they are phenomenal athletes. They can carry injuries very well. It is not massive surgery in this day and age and they also have access to start-of-the-art rehabilition.
"In about 10 days' time, he'll be doing some light training -- things like swimming, cycling, cross-training. He probably won't be able to start running around and kicking footballs for about three weeks, so he won't have much training in the build-up to the World Cup, but these guys are so fit he probably won't need it."