Arsenal defender Johan Djourou insists he could play again this season.
Djourou is out with a shoulder injury collected in their FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.
Djourou continues to worry that the operation will be required but he is feeling more upbeat.
"In my heart, I was initially hopeful because they said to me that I didn't have a rupture and nothing was broken so I was thinking: 'Brilliant, I can get back as quickly as possible,'" he told the Guardian.
"But then we come to reality. When you dislocate a shoulder, it takes a lot more time. The thing with shoulders is that if you don't operate and I played in a month, it could come out again. We'll just have to see how it settles over the next few days."
