Fulham have been boosted by the news that Andrew Johnson's shoulder injury is not as bad as first feared.
Johnson had to be taken off during Thursday night's Europa League qualifier against Amkar Perm in the 66th minute after a hefty bodycheck by defender Dmitry Belorukov.
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was seething with the challenge, for which the Russian was given a yellow card, and predicted that Johnson could be out for eight weeks with a dislocated shoulder.
The Fulham manager revealed, however, that the 28-year-old striker could be back in training in as little as two weeks, which could pave the way for a return to first team action within five weeks.
"The ligaments around the collar bone have snapped," the Fulham boss said today.
"I don't think he will be doing any football training for at least two to three weeks and then it's just a question of trying to get him back as quickly as we can after that.
"It's not great news, but on the other hand it doesn't seem to make a difference with that type of injury whether the ligaments are snapped or if they are stretched or damaged in another way.
"He was quite hopeful this morning that he would be back before those eight weeks but of course he is going to be out for a period of time."