Frencg coach Roger Lemerre has today said that a secoind examination of the knee, in Paris, is not quite as negative as the first reports indicated.

Apparently it is possible that Bob already had the damage to the cruciate ligament in his right knee, before the incident in the Newcastle match which had appeared to cause it.

It's only a slim hope. Clearly there is damage, and even if it turns out to have been there for a while that won't necessarily rule out surgery. But Lemeree says that Bob won't be rushed into theatre as was suggested in yesterday's reports. They're going to wait a couple of weeks or so before deciding on further action.

It is still very unlikely that Pires will be back in an Arsenal team this season, but perhaps his chances of making it to Japan have risen slightly higher than zero.