Manchester United have confirmed midfielder Casemiro has returned to training following a lengthy injury lay-off.
The midfielder has missed eight games so far thanks to a hamstring injury suffered during a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on November 1.
In a statement released on the club's official website, Man Utd announced that Casemiro is now finally back training on grass: "Casemiro has started training on the pitch, as the Brazilian steps up his recovery for Manchester United.
"On Sunday, the midfielder was spotted training alone on the grass at Carrington, while his team-mates took part in a recovery session."
The hamstring injury was the second ailment suffered by the ex-Real Madrid man in quick succession, with Casemiro also injuring his ankle while on international duty in Brazil's fixture against Venezuela. Having missed three club games with the ankle strain, the midfielder returned to action against Newcastle but then hobbled off once again at half-time during that game at Old Trafford.
Casemiro's return to training, albeit not yet with the first-team, is certainly good news for the Red Devils and could mean that the Brazilian may be return to action sooner than previously expected.
Speaking in early November about when he expected both Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez - who is out of action due to a metatarsal issue which required surgery - manager Erik ten Hag stated that he was not counting on the pair to return to action before Christmas:
"I have some time schedules, yeah, but it's always difficult to predict that because they can get setbacks during the rehab period, so I'm always holding back a little bit on some issues," Ten Hag said.
"I expect some [players] back but Casemiro and Martinez are really strong injuries and I don't expect them back before Christmas. It's several weeks."