LONDON (AP):

Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva is determined to overcome the fracture of his leg and ankle, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season and the European Championship.

"I am unsure at the moment of the extent of the injury and how long I will be out of action for," Eduardo said. "But I know that I won't be able to play for Arsenal for the rest of the season or be ready in time for the Euros this summer.

"But I'm not worried about that. My concentration and determination is on making as quick a recovery as possible. I am determined to overcome this injury."

There were fears that the career of the Brazilian-born Croatia striker, who celebrates his 25th birthday today, might be over when he was carried off the field during Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Birmingham on Saturday with an injury some of his teammates were too distressed to look at.

Surgery

Eduardo was taken straight to a hospital in Birmingham where he had surgery to repair the fractures to his left leg and ankle. Yesterday, he was transferred to a hospital closer to his home in London.

"I don't remember the incident very well and it is not something that I want to see again on television or in the newspapers," Eduardo told the Arsenal website. "All I remember is that when I fell, I looked down at my foot and it had turned the other way. The rest is just a blank. It was an unfortunate situation but these things can happen in football."

The incident happened less than three minutes into the game at St Andrews. Eduardo lay on the field for more than eight minutes before he was carried off. The referee had already shown the red card to Birmingham's Martin Taylor for the challenge.