Fulham will be without key man Danny Murphy when they travel to the Liberty Stadium this Saturday.
But boss Martin Jol is keeping his fingers crossed Steve Sidwell will be ready to step into Murphy's midfield shoes in time for the Swansea City clash.
Sidwell has not featured since the Cottagers' 3-1 defeat to Spurs last month after undergoing a hernia operation.
But, despite Jol admitting the 28-year-old is still feeling the effects of the surgery, he is set to rush Sidwell back after Murphy picked up a problem with his ankle in Monday night's win over Liverpool.
Still, while Jol will welcome Sidwell's return, the loss of Murphy for the meeting with Brendan Rodgers' men has come as a hammer blow to the Dutchman after the playmaker's impressive start to the season.
Murphy has been ever-present for Fulham, scoring once but making an eye-catching five assists.
And, following the 1-0 win over the Reds that saw Fulham leapfrog Swansea in the Premier League table, Jol said: "Danny's ankle has swollen up. It looks a bad one and hopefully it's just one match he misses - but it could be a couple of weeks.
"Hopefully he (Sidwell) can be fit for the next game. He needed a minor operation and they told me maybe he would play the next match after 10 days, but he still feels it - it's still painful after the operation. Hopefully he will be OK."
The game will come too early for former Wales international Simon Davies, despite the Haverfordwest-born midfielder stepping up his return to fitness yesterday.
Davies has been out of action since injuring his knee in a Europa League tie back in June, needing small-scale surgery to help alleviate the problem.
But, after returning to full training, Davies was able to make his comeback appearance for Fulham's second-string against West Brom yesterday with an eye on a first-team return later this month.
Fulham face both Manchester United and Chelsea over the Christmas period and Jol will want 32-year-old Davies back in his plans.
But defender Stephen Kelly insisted immediate focus remains on facing a Swansea side just one point and two places below Fulham in the table before the top-four tests.
"Beating Liverpool certainly gives us the confidence that we can go out and get results against teams that are expected to be in the top four and that sets us up well going into the Christmas period," Kelly said. "But we know we go to Swansea first who are a very good attacking side.
"And you have to give them credit for their results so far this season.
"But we do go there with confidence."