James McClean has said he hopes to return playing in a matter of weeks after a positive update from a specialist on his hip injury.
The Derry City player revealed he had received medical advice to not play football due to the extent of the problem last week as he awaited more assessment.
But speaking today, he is more optimistic that he can continue a second spell with City following a painkilling injection.
Speaking on his TikTok account, the Republic of Ireland centurion said: "Just a quick update on the appointment with the specialist on Friday about the injury. I went and saw the doctor and it went better than I thought to be honest.
"I was expecting surgery or that he couldn't do surgery then retirement but that wasn’t the case. He gave me a bit of hope.
"He gave me an injection and that should hopefully give me a wee bit of relief in about a month to six weeks’ time, to make me feel a wee bit like a footballer again. So it went a lot better than I thought."
McClean said he will travel to Dubai on Thursday for warm weather training as he continues individual rehabilitation.
He watched on as theCandystripes beat Shamrock Rovers 1-0 in the first match of a spell at Celtic Park.
The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium is having a new surface laid, leading to Derry moving to the GAA stadium temporarily.
The victory over the Hoops made it back-to-back wins for City and they are now eight points off the top.
Manager Tiernan Lynch spoke confidently about McClean’s hopes of continuing playing after that game.
"Anybody that knows James’ mentality will tell you that James will do everything in his power," said Lynch.
"If it means going out there in a wheelchair, James will have a go at it."
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