Manchester united midfielder Darren Fletcher says his not giving up hope of making a return to football with the Premier League club.
The Scottish international has been sidelined since last November with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.
National team manager Craig Levein announced the 28-year-old would spend the week training with the squad ahead of their friendly against Australia at Easter Road on August 15.
And Fletcher says he is taking his recovery slowly to make sure he can be of use to both United and his national team in the future.
“It’s going OK,” Fletcher told Sky Sports News.
“I don’t want to put any time constraint on it, I’m just taking my time with it and not giving up hope of coming back and playing, and hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later.
“It’s complicated to talk about, it’s really difficult.
“But I have to make sure I’m right when I come back, which will hopefully be beneficial for Manchester United and Scotland and make sure I’m ready when needed.”
His last appearance came against Portuguese outfit Benfica in the Champions League at Old Trafford, where he scored in a 2-2 draw.
