Arsenal star Theo Walcott feels he can make their Champions League tie with Roma.

Walcott is recovering from a shoulder operation and told an EA Sports webchat yesterday: "I am nearly there, and hopefully [will be back] by the end of this month.

"I am doing a lot of rehab work now with the shoulder, landing on it, and also in the gym with a lot of weights to build the muscle strength back.

"I am seeing a specialist on February 24 so he will give me the heads [up]. Maybe it can be for that game I don't know. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but I hope to be back by the end of the month certainly."

Shoulder problems run in the Walcott family however the winger feels this latest setback in fact could be beneficial in the long run.

"My dad had an operation on his right side (shoulder) as well, and when I had my left side done, they did a scan on my right and said that something might have to be done at a different stage," Walcott added.

"So actually it is good that it has come when I am young, and hopefully now it will be as strong as anything."