Everton's Iceland midfielder Sigurdsson out for up to eight weeks

Sigurdsson was injured against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday raising doubts about his fitness for the finals in Russia starting in June but following a consultation with a specialist the prognosis is not as bad as first feared.

(Reuters)

The 28-year-old, who has four league goals and three assists for Everton this season, is Iceland's main creative force and his absence from the tournament would have been a major blow.

"We'll continue to assess Gylfi's progress on a week-to-week basis and the medical team will work very closely with him... to get him back playing as quickly as possible," Everton manager Sam Allardyce said on the club website (www.evertonfc.com).

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Ken Ferris)