Injured Arsenal captain Cesc Fàbregas is clinging to the hope of playing in this year's Champions League final in Madrid.
The midfielder hobbled through the closing stages after scoring the penalty which secured a 2-2 draw with Barcelona on Wednesday due to a break in his fibula.
The injury means a six-week spell on the sidelines, a period that almost certainly means Fàbregas' season is over unless Arsenal can reach the Champions League final.
"My leg is broken - and I feel broken too," Fàbregas wrote in his column in The Sun.
"The penalty I scored against Barcelona could be my last act as an Arsenal player this season.
"But I have to cling to the hope that we can get through at the Nou Camp, win our semi-final and I might be fit for the Champions League final.
"That might be asking a lot but it is my dream and what I pray for. We have come so far together this season I don't want it to end like this."
Fàbregas needed a late fitness test to prove his fitness for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final after sustaining heavy bruising on his leg and knee following a fierce challenge from Birmingham City's Craig Gardner last weekend.
The 22-year-old limped away from the Emirates Stadium on crutches with an injury in exactly the same place after a collision with Carles Puyol towards the end of the European tie.
Fàbregas added: "I've heard the questions about whether it was the right thing for me to play because I was doubtful right up to the kick-off.
"I wanted to play and although I knew I wasn't 100 percent fit I believed I could do a job for us. And I felt reasonably good until Puyol caught me.
"Some people think I may have even broken the leg against Birmingham a week earlier - and, to be honest, I just don't know.
"Yes, it's in exactly the same spot but I didn't go into the game against Barcelona thinking: 'My leg's broken'.
"But it's true I was desperate to play and I would do it all over again."
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The midfielder hobbled through the closing stages after scoring the penalty which secured a 2-2 draw with Barcelona on Wednesday due to a break in his fibula.
The injury means a six-week spell on the sidelines, a period that almost certainly means Fàbregas' season is over unless Arsenal can reach the Champions League final.
"My leg is broken - and I feel broken too," Fàbregas wrote in his column in The Sun.
"The penalty I scored against Barcelona could be my last act as an Arsenal player this season.
"But I have to cling to the hope that we can get through at the Nou Camp, win our semi-final and I might be fit for the Champions League final.
"That might be asking a lot but it is my dream and what I pray for. We have come so far together this season I don't want it to end like this."
Fàbregas needed a late fitness test to prove his fitness for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final after sustaining heavy bruising on his leg and knee following a fierce challenge from Birmingham City's Craig Gardner last weekend.
The 22-year-old limped away from the Emirates Stadium on crutches with an injury in exactly the same place after a collision with Carles Puyol towards the end of the European tie.
Fàbregas added: "I've heard the questions about whether it was the right thing for me to play because I was doubtful right up to the kick-off.
"I wanted to play and although I knew I wasn't 100 percent fit I believed I could do a job for us. And I felt reasonably good until Puyol caught me.
"Some people think I may have even broken the leg against Birmingham a week earlier - and, to be honest, I just don't know.
"Yes, it's in exactly the same spot but I didn't go into the game against Barcelona thinking: 'My leg's broken'.
"But it's true I was desperate to play and I would do it all over again."
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Related links:
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Personal
Also see:
