SOCCEROO Robbie Kruse has declared himself an outside chance of being fit for the 2014 World Cup despite having a knee reconstruction on Thursday.

While Kruse knows his hopes of making it to Brazil are slim, a leading knee surgeon who performed the same operation on Germany and Real Madrid star Sami Khedira in November has given him hope.

Despite opting against LARS surgery, Kruse may be given until June 12 to prove his fitness, with teams free to replace one injured player up to 24 hours before its opening game. Australia faces Chile on June 13.

Ange Postecoglou must submit a 30-man list to FIFA by May 13 before whittling it down to 23 on June 2.

Kruse, 25, will remain in Germany for his rehab with Bayer Leverkusen boasting state of the art medical facilities used regularly used by LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

"They've given me a small chance of going to World Cup. Very, very small,'' Kruse told the Herald Sun.

News_Image_File: Leverkusen's Australian midfielder Robbie Kruse is hoping to make Brazil.

"We had a player (Patrick Helmes) who in 2012 had his second reconstruction on the same knee and he returned in five months.

"They said everything has to go to absolute perfection to be back in five months. So hopefully I can be back running in eight-to-10 weeks.

"My chances are extremely slim but when you don't have much to look forward to these little things keep you going.

"They said every single day has to be absolutely perfect and if I do everything I can then at least I know I've given myself the best opportunity.

"I will do everything I can to give myself an opportunity to go to Brazil and cling on to that small chance.

"It's just the cruciate ligament, there's no swelling to other parts of the knee which is a positive and should make the operation smoother.

"I heard about LARS but I'm only 25. The World Cup is massive hit but I've got plenty of football left so I don't want to risk further injury.''

A talented but undisciplined Brisbane Roar forward who was on the verge of joining soccer's scrapheap, Melbourne Victory offered him a lifeline in 2009 and he hasn't looked back.

"After that period in Brisbane I really knuckled down. Now I barely ever drink and I'm on a strict diet,'' he said.

"I got my body in perfect shape and was in a good position. For it to all come down like that and at the most pivotal time when I was at the peak of my powers was shattering.

"But I'm trying to stay positive and this gives me a chance to get my body stronger and more powerful and come back a stronger and faster player.

"There's plenty of people worse off in the world than me so I'll try and stay focused.''

Kruse, who was looming as Australia's key player at the World Cup, revealed his heartache when told of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after an innocuous challenge late in a training session last Friday.

"I was in a lot of pain but never suspected it was going to be something like this,'' Kruse said.

"It was our last drill at training on Friday and we were doing some one on one work. A young guy tried to take me on and I went to block him.

"It was knee on knee and he caught the outside of mine, I thought it was a cork or bruised knee. I was in lots of pain at the start but it went away, I had a shower, got treatment and even went shopping that day _ it felt fine.

"The next day it was pretty sore but I still thought nothing of it.

News_Rich_Media: Robbie Slater chats to Fox Sports News about the devastating injury to Robbie Kruse that he says will certainly rule the attacker out of the World Cup.

"I went to get an MRI scan but I thought worst-case scenario I would miss two or three weeks to find out ACL pretty shocking and it took a while to sink in.

"Everything has gone pretty quickly since but I'm having surgery on Thursday. It's not the best news but I've got to keep positive.

"Even apart from the World Cup it's very disappointing. Leverkusen's a massive club, competing in the Champions League round of 16 against PSG and in the German Cup quarter finals.

"But I've got a lot to look forward to. Next season starts in August so it gives me time with an eye on the Asian Cup.

News_Image_File: NBA superstar Kobe Bryant used Bayer's facilities to recover from a serious injury.

"Hopefully I'll be back performing the way I was for the Socceroos and we can try and win the Asian Cup.''

Leverkusen gave Kruse the option of returning to Australia for his rehab but he opted to remain in Germany with fiancee Tiharny Smith by his side.

"The mental part of the whole thing will be most difficult but I'm confident I can come back and I've got good support with my fiancée with me,'' Kruse said.

"I spoke to club today and they gave me the option to come home but the facilities and medical support network in Germany is really good so I decided to stay.

"Kobe Bryant has done rehab from serious injury using our facility, which is top notch.

"I've had a lot of free time the last few days and done a lot of research about players who've done their knee and come back to be massive footballers such as (Alessandro) Del Piero, (Ruud) van Nistelrooy and Helmes who was at Leverkusen but is now on loan to Cologne.''