Gennaro Gattuso hopes to recover from injury by the time AC Milan play a potential UEFA Cup final. The touch-tackling Milan midfielder tore cruciate ligaments in his right knee early in December. The serious injury could force him to miss the rest of the season but he hopes he will be able to play in the UEFA Cup final in May if Milan manage to reach that stage. "It would be a great satisfaction to be there," Gattuso told Milan's official website. "But if I wouldn't make it because of my knee, I would still be on the sidelines to encourage my team mates and transmit my strength on them. "Only the thought that Milan might participate to a final, particularly at Istanbul, is for me a reason of great pride." Italian giants Milan will face German side Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup last 32.