Alejandro Faurlin could be ready to make his return to action at the start of the 2012/13 campaign, says Queens Park Rangers' head physio Nigel Cox.
The Argentine midfielder suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage during an FA Cup third round tie with MK Dons in January, and was forced under the knife as a result.
He has since undergone a successful operation and QPR are hopeful regarding his chances of coming back into contention for the start of next season.
"It has been well documented that Ali will not return this season and the target is for him to be back for the start of the next campaign," Cox told the club's official website.
"Injuries such as this tend to take six to seven months to recover from.
"That timeframe would take us to August and we are hopeful that if there are no problems along the way we will be able to have Ali available for the start of next season."
Rehabilitation
Faurlin is due back in London early next week after spending the last two months in Spain since being operated on by world-renowned surgeon Ramon Cugat.
"Ali wanted to have a Spanish-speaking surgeon so that he could communicate directly without any obstacles," Cox said.
"Ali ruptured the cruciate in his right knee so an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was needed."Ramon is a very experienced and highly respected surgeon. He is linked very closely to Barcelona Football Club and recently operated on David Villa and Andreu Fontas.
Recovery
"I travelled out to Barcelona with Ali the night before the operation which is when we met Ramon, and the surgery took place the following day.
"They actually took part of Ali's patella tendon from the front of his knee and replaced the damaged ligament with a graft of Ali's own body so that it wouldn't reject.
"It was a very successful operation, and the programme since then has involved Ali remaining in Barcelona to carry out the initial stage of his rehab under the watchful eye of Ramon.
"I visited him a fortnight ago and he is getting to the point now where he will be out on the grass soon, and that is when he will return to England and we will take over his recovery.
"He is due back here very soon, potentially as early as next week. Then we will look to gradually step up his rehab. It will be great to have him back around the place."
