There are reports Monza player Pablo Mari is recovering quicker than expected after he was stabbed in a supermarket attack in October and could be back playing in January.
The defender is on loan at Monza from Arsenal with an option to buy at the end of the season and was already in Serie A last term with Udinese.
He was one of five people randomly stabbed by a man in a supermarket in Assago just outside Milan on October 27.
A supermarket cashier, Luis Fernando Ruggieri, was killed in the attack.
Pablo Mari was stabbed in the back and shoulder, undergoing surgery on October 28 to help suture the torn muscles, and expected to be out of action for at least four to five months.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he is recovering quicker than expected and could even return to the field in mid-January.
Serie A is currently on a break for the 2022 World Cup and will resume on January 3.
He is already working on a treadmill and doing lower body exercises to maintain the musculature.