Injury-plagued Everton striker James Vaughan has begun running this week.

The striker has been able to step up his rehab following the serious shoulder injury he picked up in the pre-season friendly at Preston. He has now been cleared to start running, and is also working on the movement in the injured shoulder joint.

"I only started running this week but at the moment I'm just trying to get the full range of movement back in my shoulder," Vaughan told evertonfc.com.

"Once that happens, it shouldn't take too long to get it back up to full strength."

And the young striker revealed that he was hoping to be back sooner rather than later.

"The coaching staff and medical team have set the target for me to return by November and that remains the plan but it would be great if I could come back a bit before then and I'm quietly confident. It's just a question of being sensible.

"It's not an injury that can be rushed. If I haven't got the movement there, I can't come back. It's that simple. But I'm pleased with the way things are going.

"It's been frustrating because you feel like you can run around and kick balls but if I fell on it now, the same thing would happen again."