Bristol City CEO Mark Ashton has confirmed that Benik Afobe is set to return to the Robins.
City signed the striker on loan from Stoke City in August, but he suffered a knee injury in September that, at first, looked like it was going to rule him out for the season.
Yet the popular striker has made remarkable strides in his recovery, working with former Arsenal physio Ray Lewin, and is now set to return to the Robins.
Whilst the 27-year-old is still some way off being match fit, Ashton told the BBC that the his return will be a boost to the whole club.
He said: "Lets be really clear. From the moment that Benik got injured, he said to me that ‘I will be back, I will play again for Bristol City before the end of this season’.
"He was really clear and with all the challenges and disappointments that have gone on in his personal life, he has not wavered from that.
"He’s quite a special human being.
"We had an agreement with Stoke that he would be rehabilitated by Stoke for the first part of his injury recovery and for the latter part, he would come back to us and that commences on Monday."
Ashton added: "We’ll assess him on Monday, we’ll see where he is in his recovery.
"He’s still a way away from it but it’s great to have him back in the door. He’s very liked and loved by everyone at the football club and the sooner he’s back, the better."
If Afobe was to return to action before the end of the season, it would provide manager Lee Johnson with a valuable selection headache heading into the final run-in.
Alongside Afobe, the Robins also have Nahki Wells, Famara Diedhiou and Andi Weimann to call upon in attack.
