Hull City pair Robert Koren and James Chester are ahead of schedule in their injury recovery.
Boss Steve Bruce had initially feared his skipper Koren and defender Chester would be ruled out for eight weeks, a lay off that wouldn't have seen them return until mid-November at the earliest.
But the club's head of medical services Rob Price offered a more upbeat assessment on the pair.
"With injuries, it isn't always black and white and you have to see how people progress," Price told the Tigers' official website.
"When we say it could be eight weeks, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be eight weeks because we always hope we can get them back a little bit quicker than that."
