Michu will almost certainly miss Swansea City's trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Saturday after he limped out of the Boxing Day game at Reading with an ankle injury, although the Welsh club remain hopeful that the Premier League's joint-leading scorer will be back in action soon.

Michael Laudrup, the Swansea manager, is expected to be in a position to give a clearer indication of the extent of the injury on Friday, after the medical staff have examined the ankle once the swelling has gone down.

An initial assessment suggested that Michu has not damaged ankle ligaments. Michu has proved one of the signings of the season, having joined Swansea from Rayo Vallecano in the summer for £2m. He has scored 13 Premier League goals, only equalled by Manchester United's £24m Robin van Persie.