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FORTALEZA. — Uruguay will give star striker Luis Suarez every chance to prove his fitness less than a month after having knee surgery ahead of their World Cup soccer opener with Costa Rica in Fortaleza today.
The match starts at 9pm.
The English Premier League Player of the Year had an operation to repair damage to the meniscus in his left knee on May 22, but has remained steadfast in his determination to feature in Brazil.
“I want to tell everyone that the recovery is going very well and that the knee feels good. Everything depends on how things go day-by-day, but it is going well,” Suarez said via his official Twitter account.
“I want to thank you all for the messages of support I have received throughout the week and my mind is now focused on the World Cup.”
However, with tougher tests on paper in England and Italy to come for the 2010 semi-finalists later in Group D, coach Oscar Tabarez may be tempted to give his star man a few extra days to recover.
“If it was down to me then Suarez would play,” said Tabarez.
“His path from the under 20 side to now has been incredible, but first we just think about him as a person rather than a footballer and protect him. Then we can go step-by-step and we are getting closer to the dream that he will be with us.”
Should Suarez not start then the Golden Ball winner from four years ago, Diego Forlan, will join Paris Saint-Germain’s Edison Cavani in attack.
Forlan returned to training on Thursday after missing a session earlier in the week due to a stomach problem. — AFP.
Online Reporter