Dundee United star Gary Mackay-Steven will take a huge step on the road to recovery this week.
The winger has been badly missed by his team, whose form slump has coincided with his absence from the line-up.
Tangerines fans will be glad to hear Mackay-Steven is now making real progress as he battles back from knee surgery.
Next up for him is a return to running, which will really test the knee.
”Gary will start running this week, which is great news,” said United first-team coach Gary Kirk, who has been taking training along with Paul Hegarty in the absence of manager Peter Houston, who is away on Scotland duty.
”He is really positive just now and has kicked on over the last couple of weeks. He will start running with our physio Jeff Clarke and hopefully he will get through that.
”It is all so much more positive surrounding Gary now and everything Jeff has thrown at him, he has coped with. He has done all the weights and been on the bike and not had an adverse reaction.
”He is a good lad who looks after himself. He has even been doing a lot of work on his own, at night in the gym. That extra work has helped him I’m sure.
”He is probably still two to three weeks away from a comeback, though. You just never know what will happen when he starts running and we can’t rush him back. ”
Meanwhile, full-back Gregory Vignal played in the under-20 game against Motherwell on Monday night as he works to get fit.