Murray Davidson could be in the St Johnstone squad for Saturday’s clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
And Dave Mackay’s comeback is not far away either.
Both have confounded early fears that they would be out for a big chunk of the season, and got 45 minutes in Tuesday night’s 5-2 development league win over Partick Thistle under their belt.
And now Davidson is set to be fast-tracked back into the first team.
Manager Tommy Wright reported: “Cuptie and Muzz both got game time against Partick and have come through it unscathed.
“It’s a great boost for both players and for the rest of the squad. They are both well ahead of schedule.
“We feared they would be out long-term so we have to regard this as a real bonus.
“From what I have seen, if Murray puts in a couple of good training sessions there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be in the weekend squad. He coasted through the game. The boy is a freak of nature.
“And the only thing holding back Dave is the fact that he missed out on a pre-season because of the timing of the surgery.
“The next couple of games will probably come too soon for him but once he gets his general fitness levels up he should be good to go. He’s certainly way ahead of the initial schedule.”
Mackay endured major hip reconstruction work late last term and was braced for a six month absence, while Davidson damaged a cruciate in Europa League action and initially feared he would be ruled out for most of the season.