Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas may struggle to make Spain's World Cup squad after he was ruled out for the remainder of the Premier League season on Thursday with a cracked right fibula.
Arsenal said the 22-year-old midfielder is out for at least six weeks with the injury he sustained in the closing stages of Wednesday's 2-2 Champions League quarterfinal, first leg draw against Barcelona.
Arsenal has six more Premier League matches before the English season finishes on May 9. The deadline for national teams to register their provisional 30-man World Cup squad is two days later.
The squads must be trimmed to a final 23 by June 1 and, with Fabregas an infrequent starter, coach Vicente Del Bosque might decide to leave out a man who may not have played for 11 weeks when Spain opens its World Cup campaign.
European champion Spain, which has friendlies against South Korea on June 3 and against Poland on June 8, plays its first World Cup match against Switzerland on June 16 in Durban.
There is a slim chance Fabregas could return in time for the May 22 Champions League final if Arsenal gets there.
"Everyone at the club wishes Cesc a full and speedy recovery," Arsenal said in a statement.
As Arsenal's leading scorer with a remarkable 19 goals in 36 matches from central midfield, Fabregas seemed to have justified coach Arsene Wenger's decision to include him Wednesday despite a knee injury sustained in the Premier League over the weekend.
But he left Emirates Stadium on crutches after being fouled by Carles Puyol for the 85th-minute penalty he converted to earn the draw.
Fabregas was already suspended for next week's return match at Camp Nou but will now sit out the semifinals should Arsenal advance as well as Premier League matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham, Wigan, Manchester City, Blackburn and Fulham.
Arsenal is in third place, four points behind defending champion Manchester United and three behind Chelsea. The Gunners have not won a trophy in five years and are without a Premier League title since 2004.
Defender William Gallas and forward Andrey Arshavin are also out after sustaining calf injuries Wednesday.
"I won't be able to come out on the pitch for another two or three weeks," Arshavin said on his Web site Thursday.
