NEW YORK (AP) – Two of ABC News’ best-known journalists, Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer, will fill in for anchorman Bob Woodruff on “World News Tonight” as he recovers from injuries suffered in a roadside bombing, the network said Wednesday.

ABC News President David Westin said Gibson and Sawyer had agreed to help out on the evening newscast for the next few weeks, as it becomes clearer how long Woodruff will be out.

The 44-year-old journalist was slowly being brought out of sedation Wednesday at a Navy hospital in Maryland where he was flown for treatment the night before. Military doctors and Woodruff’s brother David said his condition was improving by the day.

Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were hit by shrapnel Sunday when an explosive device went off near the Iraqi military vehicle in which they were riding.

Gibson and Sawyer will take turns as partners to Elizabeth Vargas, who became co-anchor of the evening newscast with Woodruff last month. There was no immediate word on how that would affect their roles as anchors on “Good Morning America.”

Westin is committed to his revamped version of “World News Tonight,” which includes an afternoon Webcast, live feeds to the West Coast and frequent reporting visits to world hotspots by the anchors – a job he has said is too big for one person.

With Gibson and Sawyer also committed to the morning show, it’s unclear whether that would curtail any travel plans.

Gibson, who turns 63 next month, had been considered a potential replacement for the late Peter Jennings on “World News Tonight,” but he and Westin couldn’t agree last fall on how long he would be doing the job.

The news division president considered Woodruff and Vargas, both in their 40s, a longer-term solution.

Curiosity about Woodruff fueled “World News Tonight” to a ratings victory over NBC’s “Nightly News” by about a million viewers Monday, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research figures. Typically, the first-place NBC broadcast beats ABC by about a million viewers a night.

ABC has defeated “Nightly News” in the ratings only one week since Brian Williams took over in December 2004 – the week that Jennings died last August.

NBC went back into the lead Tuesday night, by about 400,000 viewers, Nielsen said.

After he arrived at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda late Tuesday, Woodruff moved his legs and arms and tried to open his eyes, said his brother, David.

“The one thing that is absolutely clear is that every test Bob’s been subjected to thus far he’s not only passed, but he’s passed with flying colors,” Westin said. “He’s proving himself, once again, to be a very tough, resilient fellow.”

Lt. Col. Guillermo Tellez, chief of surgery at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where the men were treated, said that while Woodruff faced a long rehabilitation, doctors were hopeful he could return to his job.

“We are all very optimistic that he will be able to resume most of the daily life and the functions that he had before,” Tellez told The Associated Press. “We’re certainly hoping that he will be able to get back to his professional life.”

The network said the military recommended taking Woodruff and Vogt to the Navy hospital because of its specialized treatment in head wounds, and that ABC was paying for their care. Either the Naval Medical Center or Walter Reed Army Medical Center is typically the first American stop for soldiers, sailors and Marines wounded in Iraq.

Woodruff’s wife, Lee, issued a statement Wednesday thanking people for the support they’ve shown her, Bob and their four children.

“Bob could not have made the progress he has to date without the unbelievable care he received from the military in Iraq, Germany and now, Bethesda,” she said. “Simply put, they saved his life. There are no words to express our gratitude.

“We realize that our family is going through something that thousands of military families have experienced over the last three years since the war began and throughout our history,” she said. “Bob’s name may be more recognizable but his story is no more important.”