Alphonso Davies could be back on the pitch this year.
The Team Canada and Bayern Munich star's rehab from a torn ACL in March is moving along faster than expected, head coach Vincent Kompany said on Friday.
"It's definitely looking good. I hoped he'd be back at the beginning of January, but as things stand now, it might be a bit sooner. If he can play a few games in December, then everyone will have done a wonderful job," Kompany said in a press conference.
"If things continue to go well, then we might have a very, very fit Alphonso Davies back."
Davies, the 24-year-old who calls Edmonton his hometown, sustained the injury during a CONCACAF Nations League match against the United States.
He is set to play a crucial role for Jesse Marsch's Canadian side at the FIFA World Cup, which begins in June across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
The Canada captain also expressed optimism about his recovery.
"I'm running and training well. I just need to get a bit more muscle mass on my right leg," he told FCBayern.com. "When the doctors told me how long it could take after the injury, I thought, 'Wow, that's going to be a long journey.' But it's all looking good now."
Canada is coming off a pair of friendlies in which it fell 1-0 to Australia before earning a scoreless draw against Colombia.
Bayern leads the Bundesliga with a perfect 6-0-0 start to the season, having scored 25 goals and surrendered just three.
In September, Marsch said a return for November’s international window is likely too soon but "not out of the question."
"Let's see how he does over the next month," he said. "Everybody's really focused on just making sure that Alphonso has the best chance to come back to a hundred per cent as quickly as possible."
--with files from The Canadian Press
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