Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is hopeful he will recover from knee surgery by the end of November.
The 20-year-old injured the lateral meniscus in his right knee during a Europa League game for the club against Timisoara on 19 August.
The Italian international has played 33 minutes of football for the club since his £24m switch from Inter Milan.
On Tuesday, he told a news agency that he should be available again in about six to eight weeks.
Balotelli underwent surgery on 8 September and was initially expected to be back in action in mid-October, but his recovery has taken longer than expected.
His recovery timetable should allow him to appear for City in their Europa League tie with Juventus on 16 December.
Balotelli, the son of Ghanaian immigrants to Italy, suffered racist heckling from a section of the Juventus support when he faced them in Inter colours in the past, forcing the Turin club to play a match behind closed doors.
In Balotelli's absence City have had a mixed start to the season, beating Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League, but also losing at Sunderland and exiting the Carling Cup with a 2-1 defeat at West Brom.
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