Milan Baros is confident of being fit for Aston Villa's trip to face Premiership relegation rivals Sunderland a week on Saturday, despite his daunting international schedule.
The Czech Republic striker had to take painkillers to get through last Saturday's 90 minutes against his former club, Liverpool, because of his troublesome Achilles.
But he now has the prospect of two crucial World Cup play-off games against Norway inside five days and Villa will have to keep their fingers crossed that they get him back in one piece for the Stadium of Light contest.
"The Achilles is not 100 per cent," said Baros. "I played under painkillers against Liverpool but possibly it will be absolutely okay on Saturday.
''My body is in pain still but there is no surprise, I haven't done anything for six weeks."
Prior to Saturday's return, Baros had missed Villa's five previous Premiership games but, in that six weeks' absence from club football, he did manage one international appearance, after being given a pain-killing injection by the Czechs to play in their World Cup qualifier against Holland on October 8.
The 2-0 home defeat that night ended their chances of automatic qualification for Germany and they must now meet Norway in Oslo in Saturday night's play-off first leg, before hosting the return in Prague next Wednesday.
But Baros says he will be ready to face Sunderland and start Villa's climb up the Premiership. "I think it is only a question of timee," he said. "We have a good team and we have had only bad luck with the injuries.''
