Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer has been sidelined for six months by a persistent hamstring problem, but Glenn Roeder says he is almost ready to include him in his squad.
Roeder insists he won't fall into the trap that sent Graeme Souness through the trap-door by bringing the England international back too early. And he decided against throwing Dyer into reserve-team action for the match with Wigan on Monday.
No exact date on Dyer's return has been given, but the October 28 home game with Charlton could be a possibility.
Roeder: "We are working in short time-frames, therefore it would be wrong to pencil in an exact date. We review things on a daily basis and work with the medical team - we won't lose patience.
"I am a patient person and I think people realise that, if all goes to plan, Kieron will be able to stand the pace of a Premiership game before the end of the month. I am confident that will be the case.
"We wanted to give Kieron an hour in a game that we can control, and he is looking in great shape. He has already played 45 minutes in a similar game and now we have stepped that up.
"This is more a build-up to him getting back to action for the first team because his comeback started some time ago. He had been working every day to overcome the problem."