John O'Shea is refusing to rule himself out for the rest of the season and claims he could be back in action before the end of March.
The Republic of Ireland star has not featured for Manchester United since he was injured in November's heartbreaking World Cup play-off exit to France in Paris.
Originally diagnosed with a dead-leg, O'Shea suffered complications in his recovery that delayed a comeback and eventually led to Sir Alex Ferguson claiming the Waterford-born star could be out for the remainder of the current campaign.
Ferguson has since reined back that statement, instead expressing hope that O'Shea might play some part before next term.
Bu the 28-year-old insists his recovery mission is nowhere near so bleak and he is confident it won't be long before he is once again battling to help United land some silverware.
"The boss said that I could be out for the rest of this season, but 'could' and 'would' are two very different words," O'Shea told the Irish Examiner.
"To be honest, I am much more hopeful about my injury situation.
"I am improving at a very steady pace and I am very hopeful of being back in the action sometime in March."
© Press Association