He is recovering well from the op last week, and club doctor Ges Steinbergs says: "We will review it when the plaster is off in three weeks. It will depend on how it has settled down with the screw and how stable it looks at that stage.
"The sooner he is able to play with a splint so to speak, or strapping that is comfortable and legal, then he will get going."
Glenn Roeder confirms the operation couldn't have waited any longer, even if he had not signed Rufus Brevett, and explains: "He fractured his left wrist at Aston Villa and was playing with it, as supporters will have noticed, heavily strapped.
"But there was a broken bone that had to be screwed into place and if he had waited longer it would have been unlikely it would have ever healed properly.
"Nigel was in a situation where he couldn't even grip a suitcase and pick it up off the floor, so it was only right that he had the operation."