Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has voiced his delight with his return to squad training and is optimistic over his recovery, even if he realises he still is some way off returning to match action.
Zouma has been on the sidelines since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Manchester United back in February, but is slowly edging closer to his comeback.
The 21-year-old recently resumed training and he hopes to be 100 per cent again in six to eight weeks.
"I don't know when I will be available for selection again, I will need to discuss that with the manager and the medical team. I'm not fit enough yet but hopefully in six weeks or a couple of months I will be, we will have to wait and see," Zouma told the official Chelsea website.
"It's been really hard but if you're strong mentally you can do anything. It's football, lots of players have had big injuries and been out for a while.
"It's important to stay positive in your mind and say to yourself: 'Okay, I've been unlucky to get a bad injury but I will come back stronger.' You have to be determined. I'm the type of person who doesn't like to be negative, I always try to be positive and have a laugh and joke with the guys and my family.
"The time has gone quite quickly, it's been five months but it only feels like about two. I didn't know I would be back on the training pitch by now, I thought it would be a bit later. But my knee is okay and I don't have any pain, which is great."
