Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has revealed that he is on schedule to return from injury in mid-February.
The Croatian has been out of action since November with a thigh problem, but is currently on the right track in terms of recovery.
"Everything is going great. At the end of the year I will go for another MRI scan and expect everything to be okay, so that from the first day of the New Year I can go into the second phase of rehabilitation," he told Sportske Novosti.
"Forecasts have indicated that in mid-February I could play again. I won't rush my recovery but I'll be ready for the important battles.
"When I was told I faced three months out, I feared the worst as I remembered when I broke my leg in 2009, but in the end I looked on the bright side."
Modric was forced to undergo surgery to repair the problem that he picked up on international duty.