Osasuna's Iranian midfield star Javad Nekounam is moving closer towards playing his first game of the 2007/08 La Liga season.

A serious knee injury meant that the former Pas man has played no part in the Pamplona outfit's current campaign but the 27 year-old could be back in action as early as next month.

Nekounam is currently back in his homeland but will soon return to Germany to visit the doctor who performed the knee surgery.

"He hasn't told us the exact date of his return, but it will be towards the end of this month", PersianFootball.com quoted Nekounam's surgeon Dr. Cipriáin as saying.

"He's started playing with the ball and doing other things and I hope that what we do here is the last stage. A few days before training with the team, we will see how he is, but I think it is on the right track."

The doctor was unwilling to put an exact date on Nekounam's return to action.

"I can't tell the date of his return until we see him, but it's predicted towards the end of February. It will all depend on the status of his knee, but the impression is that he will be back to full fitness in late February or early March -six months after the initial injury was sustained," Cipriain said.