Aston Villa are hopeful John McGinn will return to action when they resume their European campaign next month.
The captain has been absent since suffering a knee injury in the home defeat by Everton in January and has since undergone surgery.
The absence of McGinn, along with fellow key midfielders Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, has hit Villa hard. Without the trio, Villa have won only two of six games in all competitions, even though five of those have been at home.
They collected only one point from games at Villa Park against Everton, Brentford and Leeds and were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Newcastle.
Villa qualified automatically for the last 16 of the Europa League thanks to their strong league phase performance and the competition resumes on March 12.
Three days later, Villa take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in a game that could prove pivotal for their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
If Villa had a fully-fit McGinn for either or both of those games, it would give Unai Emery and his players a huge boost heading into the decisive period of the season.
Though Kamara’s knee injury will almost certainly keep him sidelined for the rest of the season, Villa are more optimistic about Tielemans.
As Daily Mail Sport first reported in January, the ankle injury sustained by Tielemans at Newcastle meant he would miss a significant period but the Belgian is eyeing a return after the March international break.
Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho has paid tribute to Emery after he started to find form and consistency at Villa Park.
The Manchester United winger is on a season's loan with Villa and though he struggled to make an impact during the early phase of the campaign, he has made his mark in recent weeks.
Sancho said: 'When you have a manager who backs you, you go into training with a lot more confidence and obviously matchdays.
'I am just happy that I am playing and hopefully I can help the team throughout the season.
'Being third in the Premier League is not a bad position to be in. I think the team, from where we began to where we are now, has done an amazing job. But the job is not finished. We have got to carry on.'