Sam Allardyce believes James McCarthy should be fit to take part in pre-season as the Everton midfielder steps up his recovery from a double leg break.
McCarthy suffered the terrible injury while making a challenge on striker Salomon Rondon in a Premier League game against West Brom in January.
The Ireland international subsequently underwent surgery and Allardyce says McCarthy's rehabilitation is ready to begin at Everton's training ground.
"It is down to the specialist and them saying if and when James can start moving forward," Allardyce told the Everton website.
"The specialist will guide us on how far we can go and with a bit of luck we can look forward to James starting the next pre-season with us.
"He has had some time back at home. He will probably re-join us in the next few days on a regular basis to start getting some mobility into his ankle, particularly because it has been in a set position for such a long time."
