Sharpeville (South Africa) June 11 (DPA) Ivory Coast fans were in an ecstatic mood Friday after learning that star player Didier Drogba had returned to World Cup training, less than a week after fracturing his arm.

The Chelsea striker wore a light protective cast on his broken right arm and avoided drills involving contact with other players, but was still able to move freely and kick a ball around during Thursday evening's training session.

Coach Sven Goran Eriksson now says Drogba could even feature in Tuesday's opening game against Portugal.

'If the game had been today or tomorrow, he wouldn't play. But there are still some days. He might play against Portugal,' Eriksson said.

Fans in the country's largest city, Abidjan, took to the streets and cheered upon hearing the news.

Many of them had feared that the team's top striker might miss out on the tournament because of the injury, which he sustained after a clash with Japan's Marcus Tulio Tanaka during a friendly in Switzerland June 4.