Radamel Falcao: Could make World Cup

The 28-year-old front-man, one of the most feared strikers in world football, suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in late January - which seemingly ended his hopes of making it to Brazil this summer.

However, whilst the normal recuperation period is six months - there have been instances of players returning sooner than that, and Jose Carlos Noronha thinks that could be the case with Falcao.

Noronha is due to give Falcao another check-up in Portugal before the end of this month, and he told L'Equipe that the striker could make the finals.

"Each case is different but he is on the right track," Noronha said.

"He has recovered very well. I still believe he could play the World Cup, there is no reason why it could not work."