Ljungberg hoping to be back in two months

Arsenal’s Swedish midfield ace Freddie Ljungberg hopes to be back in action in two months following a hip operation.

The 25-year-old midfielder had surgery in Cambridge last Saturday for the injury which kept him out of Sweden’s last two World Cup matches.

He flew home to Halmstad today, where he plans to rest before starting some light training.

‘‘It was a difficult operation to go through and I’m in a hell of a lot of pain,’’ Ljungberg told Swedish newspaper Expressen.

‘‘I know it would be tough, but when I found out there were no risks involved with the surgery then of course I was going to have it done, so I could make a comeback as quickly as possible.’’

The FA Barclaycard Player of the Year revealed he will stay in Sweden for up to five weeks and gradually return to light training before reporting for duty at Highbury.

‘‘I’m going to rest completely until Monday then I’ll start a little bit of training,’’ he added.

‘‘It will only be some exercises in water at first, and forward running only so I don’t put too much strain on the hip.

‘‘My goal, however, is to be fit in two months.’’