Arturo Vidal's World Cup fitness is in doubt after it was revealed he will have to undergo surgery on his knee.
The Juventus midfielder will have arthroscopic surgery on the lateral meniscus of his right knee and is set to be sidelined for up to five weeks.
Vidal is expected to be available for Chile's World Cup campaign, which kicks off in June, but their team doctor suggested it might be touch and go for the 26-year old.
"The (recovery) period is the most important question and the one that worries us the most," Chile's team physician, Dr. Giovanni Carcuro, said Tuesday night.
"Unfortunately, in these cases, it's not something so definite. We can say that the player is by no means ruled out from the World Cup. But we don't either have lots of time and giant and super-relaxed deadlines."
Former Bayer Leverkusen star Vidal is one of Chile's top few players and would be a major loss if he were to miss any of La Roja's World Cup matches.
Chile are drawn alongside Spain, Holland and Australia in Group B at the Brazil tournament with their first group fixture in Cuiaba against the Socceroos on June 13.
