Sergio Aguero could be back in action for Manchester City on Saturday.
And, in a triple boost for the Blues, Vincent Kompany and Edin Dzeko are also lined up for a return to action at Everton as they head into a crucial phase of the title race.
Aguero returned to outdoor training this week, and will have been out of action for five weeks by the time the squad heads to Goodison Park.
The Argentine ace, who still heads the Premier League goalscoring charts despite his absence, urged caution in a tweet he put out on Monday.
He said: “I wanted you to know I’ve already started field work. Slowly but surely I’ll be back at the right moment. Thanks for the wishes!”
But M.E.N. Sport understands Aguero is progressing well, and – as long as he continues to improve – is pencilled in for a place on the bench at Everton, at least a week ahead of schedule.
It would be ironic if he does make his comeback against the Toffees, as he sustained his medial collateral ligament injury in City’s 1-0 win over the Merseysiders at the Etihad Stadium last month.
At the time, manager Manuel Pellegrini predicted the injury would take from four to six weeks, or possibly eight weeks, putting Aguero’s participation in crunch games against Arsenal at home on January 18, and Chelsea away on January 31, at risk.
But Aguero has responded well to treatment, the injury was a low-grade one, and he should be back in full training by the end of this week.
Kompany is also fit again after suffering with calf and hamstring problems. At a push he could have played in the FA Cup third round win over Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend but was not risked with so many big games coming up.
Dzeko sparked a striker crisis when he pulled up with a calf problem in the warm-up at Leicester, a week after Aguero’s injury – and he is also close to a comeback.
That means City are close to having the full complement of three senior strikers back, along with the possible addition of Wilfried Bony from Swansea.