Cameron Carter-Vickers is reportedly ahead of schedule in his injury rehab.
The Celtic defender, 25, has been sidelined after knee surgery.
However, he was spotted joining his Celtic team-mates heading to Portugal in pre-season.
And it's claimed he is ahead of schedule in his recovery with a possible earlier competitive return in the pipeline.
Carter-Vickers had originally been thought to be on course for a return at the end of August.
But, the Daily Record claim he is now aiming for a comeback in the first league fixture against Ross County.
Celtic host Ross County in the early kick-off on Saturday, August 5 in the Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser next month.
And a return for Carter-Vickers would be a huge boost for Brendan Rodgers. He's expected to take park in light training in the Algarve this week.
Rodgers has already met a number of his first-team players at Celtic, but will meet some stars in person for the first time in Portugal.
International players had been given extended time off in the post-season before linking up with the squad this week.
But Rodgers previously revealed the time off for first-team regulars allowed for a chance to view youth players at the club.
He said: "Normally in the modern game, very rarely do you get all your players back at the one time.
"So that will always give you a chance to see the young players - and I've got to say I've been very impressed with both (the young players) and the established guys in the first-team squad have been excellent, their attitude has been outstanding.
"They've come back in a really, really good condition. So they've come back already fit, which gives us a chance to build on that. And the young players, of course, a lot of them I haven't known, they've been pleasantly surprising really.
"They've been really, really good. Sometimes a young player can come in and really struggle with the intensity of the first-team. But they've all coped really, really well so that's been pleasing."
