Blackburn midfielder Steven Reid has revealed he will be back in time for the start of next season after undergoing minor knee surgery.
The 27-year-old Republic of Ireland international had been suffering discomfort around his cruciate ligament which was operated on last year.
"It's feeling good," Reid told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"I'm not getting any pain off it. I'm just going to take it easy for a few weeks before stepping up the work."
"There were a couple of times towards the end of the season when I was getting a little bit of swelling"
Reid will definitely miss Giovanni Trappatoni's first games in charge of the Republic of Ireland against Serbia and Colombia later this month.
But he felt having the operation at the end of the current Premier League season was the best option.
"There were a couple of times towards the end of the season when I was getting a little bit of swelling. So we just wanted to check everything was ok.
"They've just tidied the area up a bit, washed a few bits and pieces out and it should be brand new come pre-season," Reid added.
"I've obviously got the rest period ahead in the summer and have been advised to stay off it as much as possible and get complete rest for the next two weeks."
"Everyone's excited and buzzing about the new appointment"Reid missed part of the last pre-season after suffering a number of injury setbacks.
But the Kingston-born player, who has scored twice for the Republic of Ireland, is keen for a better build-up to the new campaign.
"I started pre-season and it was going pretty well, but then had a few setbacks with a hamstring injury," said Reid. "Ideally this year I want to take part in every session."
"I've sat down with a sports scientist and the medical team and it's been proven that if you take part in the whole of pre-season that increases your chances of staying fully fit all season.
The midfielder admitted there has been an air of excitement in Ireland after Trappatoni was installed as Republic boss.
"Everyone's excited and buzzing about the new appointment, so I'm disappointed I'm going to miss those games in the summer. But it'll give the knee time to settle down and hopefully give me an injury-free season for Blackburn next year," he added.
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