Fears that Andy Johnson would be ruled out for the season with a suspected broken ankle suffered during Everton's 2-0 Premiership win at Wigan appeared to be receding on Sunday.
Everton's physiotherapist said there was "no obvious fracture."
England attacker Johnson, an ?8.6 million (US$17 million) pre-season signing from Crystal Palace, was stretchered off midway through the second half after colliding with Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
And although two goals from Mikel Arteta secured a rare away win for Everton, manager David Moyes left the JJB Stadium more concerned by Johnson's injury.
But following a hospital scan, Everton physiotherapist Mick Rathbone told the club's official website: "Andy was taken off after injuring his left ankle. He was taken to the casualty department at Wigan Infirmary where a series of X-rays were done.
"There is no obvious fracture but we will be undertaking a few more specific investigations tomorrow [Monday]," he said.
Earlier, a concerned Moyes said: "We are hoping for the best and it may not be as bad as it looked at first. He would clearly be a massive loss for us as he has been a terrific player this season."
Arteta's double consigned Wigan to their seventh successive league defeat and left the Latics just two points above the bottom three. Having seen them miss a series of first-half chances, manager Paul Jewell admitted his Wigan team sparked their own downfall by conceding a penalty when ex-Everton defender David Unsworth fouled Victor Anichebe in the 64th minute.
"I thought the game had 0-0 all over it -- and I would have taken that -- but we gave away a crazy penalty," Jewell said.
"It was a definite penalty, but another cheap goal to concede. We keep making mistakes. The only good thing is that we don't play next week [Wigan are out of the FA Cup], so at least we won't get beaten!" he added.
Everton's victory boosted their hopes of a place in Europe, but Moyes admitted that his team were forced to work hard for their win.
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