Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says his captain Roy Keane should only be out for six weeks, rather than three months, due to a hip operation.
"We thought maybe it was a three-month job but fortunately, hopefully, it's going to be about six weeks," Ferguson told SkySports after Tuesday's 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough.
Keane has been carrying the injury since the end of last season and Ferguson had originally wanted him to miss the World Cup finals in order to undergo the operation.
In the event, Keane returned home after a row with Ireland manager Mick McCarthy before the tournament had even started.
Keane's absence is likely to coincide with a period of suspension for the United captain, who should find out this week from the Football Association (FA) whether he will be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
The FA have been considering passages of a book in which Keane says he deliberately fouled Manchester City's Alf Inge Haaland in a derby match in April 2001.
Should the FA's decision go against him, any punishment would be added to an expected three-match ban after the midfielder was red-carded on Saturday against Sunderland for elbowing Jason McAteer.
