Emil Krafth won't be put under pressure to make a playing return until next season - after missing out on the entire season with a bad knee injury.
The Sweden international is back up and running at the training ground but is cautiously feeling his way back to the first team stage. Krafth was hurt at Tranmere Rovers way back in August just weeks after signing a new deal for the club.
But even though there is hope that he could play against before May 28, Howe won't pile on the pressure in terms of a return.
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Howe said: "His recovery is going well. "It was a nasty injury Emil picked up and it was a big blow for us - it still is a big blow.
"But he's doing really well. He's on the grass and certainly from the early times I've seen him move, he's moving now a lot more fluently. You speak to him and he's confident about his recovery.
"I'm not sure we'll see him at all in a squad before the end of the season - I think we're looking more to next year - but what we do hope is that we can implement him back into training very lightly before the end of the season."
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