Andy Murray has revealed that he hopes to return in time for the start of the new season, which gets underway with the Brisbane International on December 31.
The 30-year-old has been sidelined since Wimbledon with a troublesome hip injury and will play no further part this season, ruling him out of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
The former world number one did take part in an exhibition match against Roger Federer in Glasgow on Tuesday evening, though, and he is hopeful that he is on the right track to make his comeback at the start of the new season.
"I hope I'm there. Things have been going pretty well so far in the rehab, but you just never know. You take each week as it comes," he told reporters.
"I've had setbacks and things can go quite quickly as well. I've been training for a few weeks now. Some days I've felt great and some days not so good.
"But I will come back when I'm ready and when I'm 100% fit. I probably made a bit of a mistake trying to get ready for the US Open but it was the last major of the year and I wanted to give it a go. And now it's time to give my body the rest and recovery it needs. I'll come back when I'm ready."
Murray's absence has seen him slip down to 16th in the ATP world rankings.