Marcus Rashford could be back in a red shirt sooner than expected if he continues to excel with his current rehabilitation programme.
The Manchester United striker underwent surgery on his left shoulder two weeks ago, having played through the pain barrier for the past eight months.
The 23-year-old finally went under the knife after originally sustaining the injury last November.
Rashford has been taking regular painkillers and injections that allow him to play through the pain.
The United hierarchy are hopeful that keyhole surgery on the muscle tear will enable the forward to endure a painless season with Rashford having struggled to finish the previous campaign.
After a successful operation, there is even better news concerning his rehabilitation programme: he is ahead of schedule.
The Athletic report at one point last season a rehab timeline of five months was quoted, due to the uncertain nature of the injury.
Keyhole surgery is a complicated process and each injury is unique, meaning an accurate recovery timeframe would not be given until after the operation was complete.
The Sun claim that Rashford could even be back in light training by the end of the month, due to how well he has taken to the rehabilitation programme.
He is undergoing rehab sessions twice a week and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is delighted with his speed of recovery.
The United boss is hopeful that the MBE honoured forward will be available for selection by the end of September.
This would be weeks ahead of his expected return date.
Man Utd's final game of September sees them face Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
If Rashford is still unavailable for that fixture, the Red Devils return to the theatre of dreams to host Everton a week later on October 2nd.
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