Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast captain, underwent an emergency operation tonight in an attempt to save his chances of participating in the World Cup after the Chelsea striker damaged his elbow in today'sfriendly against Japan.

The Ivory Coast manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, said: "He may have an operation, but he is not out. He got a bad injury, a bone close to the elbow is broken, but he is going to a specialist and we will take it from there. We will wait until tomorrow evening. The doctors they can't say any more than that."

A wave of dismay swept across Ivorian football when the forward was helped off the pitch in distress in the 19th minute of today's match following a clash with the opposing defender Tulio, off whom a Drogba free-kick had earlier deflected to give Ivory Coast the lead. Drogba was taken to hospital in Sion, Switzerland, where the Ivorians have been undergoing altitude training.

Drogba earlier informed French journalists that the injury would prevent him from playing in the World Cup but later retracted that and said an operation could salvage his hopes. That was backed up by spokesman of the Ivorian Football Federation, who said categorically: "He's not at all out of the World Cup. He can still play."

If Drogba does recover in time it would spare him a devastating blow – the player has often spoken of his hope to crown what he reckons has been the finest season of his career by leading his country to glory at the first World Cup to be staged in Africa. The loss of a player who has scored 44 goals in 69 appearances for his country – and hit 37 in all competitions for Chelsea this season – would severely damage the Elephants' chances of making an impact in South Africa. Ivory Coast are in perhaps the toughest of all groups, with Brazil and Portugal representing formidable obstacles between them and the next round.

Tulio, who was born in Brazil, spoke of his regret about the incident and said there had been no intent to cause harm. "It was a very physical game for both sides, and unfortunately that injury happened," he said. "Drogba and I ran into each other while chasing a loose ball and, in fact, I got there first. He bounced off me and I could see it was something bad happened when he started screaming in pain. But everybody at the stadium saw I did not mean to hurt him. These things happen in football and I just hope Drogba recovers in time for the World Cup.

"I am not this kind of player and would never have gone over the top, especially in a friendly match so close to the World Cup. They were also getting physical on us, but nothing nasty. It's just a shame this happened." When told that Drogba may not play in South Africa, Tulio exclaimed: "Oh, God. This is unfortunate. I feel really sorry for him and his team."

Eriksson said that the match had been a robust encounter but exonerated the Japanese of any wrongdoing. "It's a physical game and the Japan player did not want to hurt Didier," said Eriksson. "It was a competitive match and it got physical at some points, but there was nothing bad."

In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Drogba carries enormous influence within the dressing room. He has sometimes been accused of trying to exert too much control over team selection and strategy, though that complaint has not surfaced since the appointment of Eriksson, and there is certainly no doubt that he would have been the Ivorians' most potent weapon on the pitch.

If he does miss the tournament, his country will be captained by the Manchester City defender Kolo Touré, who recognised that the loss of Drogba would be "a huge blow". Touré did try to find some silver lining, suggesting that if the striker were ruled out, it would at least provide the team with even more motivation to perform well.

"It's a huge blow because Didier is our captain, our friend and a very important player," said Touré. "But we need to keep our heads up and try to bounce back. There are quality players in this squad who will try to use this moment as an opportunity to shine. We will work hard to play well for Didier and if he really can't play we want him to got to South Africa with us. We need to be able to go on without him."

At the age of 32, Drogba is unlikely to have another opportunity to play at the World Cup.