Uruguay striker Luis Suarez might play at the World Cup over surgery on an injured knee, according to the country’s football association.
The Liverpool striker “suffered intense pain” in training on Wednesday and had an operation to repair meniscus damage.
“Suarez might be ready to play in Brazil,” said the Uruguay Football Association (AUF) in a statement.
Estimates on his recovery range from 15 days to a minimum of four weeks with Uruguay’s Group D opener on 14 June.
Uruguay FA president Wilmar Valdez suggested if Suarez’s recovery went to plan he could return to training in just over a fortnight.
“We know the surgery was a success and that the injury is not serious. We have to wait and see how he recovers,” he told Uruguayan newspaper La Ovacion.
“These are injuries that, considering Suarez’s fitness and if the recovery is good, will not take long for him to return to play.”
Manchester United and England defender Phil Jones took 10 weeks to return to action after surgery on his meniscus – a wedge of cartilage that absorbs shock in the knee – in September 2012.
Suarez finished as this season’s Premier League leading scorer with 31 goals, despite missing the opening five matches through suspension.
His goals helped Liverpool rise from a seventh-place finish in 2012-13 to second in 2013-14.
He also won the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ Association player of the year awards this season.
Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann said Uruguay’s World Cup chances would depend on Suarez’s fitness but expected him to make a full recovery.
Suarez finished as top scorer in the South American section of World Cup qualifying, scoring 11 goals as Uruguay finished fifth in the continent’s nine-team group before winning a play-off.
He is also a proven performer at major tournaments, helping Uruguay to the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and scoring four times as his side won the Copa America the following year.
His partnership with Paris St-Germain striker Edinson Cavani is a key part of Coach Oscar Tabarez’s plans.
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