Aberdeen hope to have Sam Cosgrove back in time for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic on November 1.
The big striker hasn't played this season after suffering a knee injury in the build-up to the opening game of the season against Rangers.
But Derek McInnes hopes he will be back in action in the next couple of weeks so that he will be available for the Hampden showdown against Celtic.
He has ruled him out of the game against Dundee United on Saturday but Cosgrove returning for the semi-final would be a huge boost to Aberdeen's chances.
He said: “Hopefully coming out of the international break we will have two or three of them back in contention for Dundee United.
“Sam’s knee is coming along fine, although he will not be in contention for Dundee United.
“Due to the nature of the injury, we’ve just got to make sure we stick to what they’re asking and not get too ahead of ourselves.”
“The plan for Sam was to be back in full training by mid-October, which would give him a couple of weeks’ work ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final."
