Tyrone manager Mickey Harte says he's hopeful that his captain Mattie Donnelly will be back in action ahead of schedule.
The Trillick club man had surgery on a hamstring injury earlier this month and he was expected to be sidelined until May next year.
But Harte says he has his "fingers crossed" that the recovery time will be closer to four months.
"With the help of God we can reduce that a bit," the Red Hand boss told the BBC.
"At the moment he's not where we would like him to be, I hope it's not six months, but I suppose people have to err on the side of caution.
"He's getting the best possible treatment and he's getting the best possible recovery assistance that we could possibly get for him.
"So we'll keep our fingers crossed that it isn't just quite as bad as that, but certainly we'll miss him until he is back."
