Ivory Coast are hopeful captain Didier Drogba will play at the World Cup following surgery on his broken arm.
Drogba, 32, suffered the injury in his side’s 2-0 win against Japan on Friday.
After undergoing successful surgery over the weekend, the striker has now linked up again with his team-mates.
Drogba is seen as critical to Ivory Coast’s hopes of progressing out of Group G, which also includes Brazil and North Korea along with Portugal, to reach the knockout stages.
“His recovery has been very encouraging,” said Ivory Coast Federation spokesman Roger Kouassi. “It is suggested that, at this point, all signs are good and there are many hopes.”
The Ivory Coast Federation (FIF) had said on Saturday that they “are confident regarding his speedy recovery”.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said he believed there was still a chance that Drogba could feature in South Africa.
After their opening match against Portugal, Eriksson’s side face Brazil on 20 June and North Korea on 25 June in a group many observers consider the tournament’s most competitive.
Drogba suffered the injury in a collision with Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka.
Afterwards, Eriksson refused to blame Tanaka for the incident.
“It was unlucky,” said the former England boss. “It wasn’t bad or stupid. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. Football is a game of contact.”
