Jack Collison is targeting a happy Christmas as he continues his comeback from a serious knee injury.
West Ham United's talented midfielder has been working hard after undergoing surgery in April, recently returning to Chadwell Heath to take part in daily physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Soccer AM, the new No10 said he was aiming to be back in first-team action in time for the busy festive season.
"I'm hoping to be back around Christmas time. I had an operation about four or four-and-a-half months ago just to stabilise my kneecap and have a bit of a tidy-up.
"I knew it had been coming a little while. I'm not sure if you remember but at Wigan I did it properly there, tried to play on and had a little bit of trouble with it and eventually it's come to this.
"Fingers crossed, it's all gone really well so far and I should be back around Christmas and I'm looking forward to getting back into the action.
"It's nice to get it sorted out. Now I'm confident in it and I can't wait to get back out on the pitch."
Collison, who made 22 Barclays Premier League last season, scoring twice, also described the painstaking treatment he underwent to build-up the strength in his knee, including sitting on a continuous passive motion machine for eight hours a day.
"It was good fun! The first 12 weeks were a bit boring but thankfully my Mum looks after me. I've moved back in with her, which is nice.
"Basically I had to move back home and laid down flat and it moved my leg up and down for me. It was pretty lazy, but I managed to get quite good at FIFA and watched quite a lot of DVDs!
"I just tried to get through it as quick as I can. Obviously it was a long time but I want to come back.
"I had a little bit of work on the cartilage and in one of the operations they stabbed little holes in it and made a new scar. It's quite complicated stuff, but the machine just smoothes out the scar and makes it all right."
Moving on to football matters, Collison spoke positively when asked about manager Avram Grant, suggesting that it will not be long before the Hammers starting winning matches for their new boss.
"The new manager seems good. He's quite friendly and comes over and says 'Hello'. At the moment I'm in getting physio every day and it's nice being in and around the boys and being in the mix.
"I think they've all reacted really well to him. He's obviously bringing in his own ideas and it's up to us to start picking up a few points I think.
"Obviously it's not a great start to the season and nobody wants to start like that, but the new manager has come in and he's got his own ideas of how he wants to play and maybe it's going to take a little while to adapt.
"It's only early doors and we've got a nice easy one next week against Chelsea so hopefully we'll pick up some points there."
While he is targeting a Christmas comeback in claret and blue, Collison also has one eye on Wales' 2012 UEFA European Championship qualifying Group F clash with England on 26 March next year.
Born in Watford, the 21-year-old qualified for Wales through his grandfather, scoring on his Under-21 debut in a 4-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in November 2007. Since making his full debut against Iceland in May 2008, he has amassed seven senior caps.
"To be honest, at the time I wasn't really concentrating on international football. I was trying to break into the West Ham first team and Brian Flynn from the Wales Under-21s came down and asked if I wanted to go and play for them and obviously I jumped at the opportunity and I've really enjoyed my time.
"I had a really good time with the Under-21s, but unfortunately it seems every time I go away with the seniors I pick up an injury or something, so I'm hoping to get my leg sorted and be back in time for the England game in March."