Ghana defender John Paintsil is a relieved man after he was told he will not need surgery to rehabilitate his knee after an injury that has knocked him out of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

The Fulham right back who picked up the injury on club duty against Chelsea will be out for six weeks which leaves well placed to return at the end of February.

That will be a relief for Paintsil whose manager Roy Hodgson had feared the Ghanaian will miss the rest of the season.

“It looked bad and I feared for the worse so to be told I am out for six weeks puts my mind at ease now,” Paintsil told KickOffGhana.com.

“I will hit the treatment room straight away and hopefully will return fully fit and ready to contribute to the final weeks of the season.”

While Ghana will miss their regular right back of the last five years, Milovan Rajevac will also be relieved that one of his most crucial players could be playing many weeks in the build up to the World Cup in June.

Paintsil is still gutted at missing the Nations Cup but is confident his colleagues will do Ghaan proud in Angola.