Port Vale boss Micky Adams has refused to put a timescale on skipper Doug Loft's return from injury.
The 26-year-old has missed Vale's last three games with the strain, but has been tipped to return in the next two weeks.
Adams told the club's official website: "Doug is making progress, he is working with the physios and rehab is going well. We are hoping to have him back sooner rather than later. If I said he would be back in two weeks and then in two weeks time he wasn't back, people would start asking questions.
"The thing with Doug is he wants to play and half the battle is putting the reins on him because whilst other people might take that extra day or that extra week, he wants to get back.
"We have to be very careful about that because if we do let him back too early we are going to lose him for another month and we don't want to do that."
Vale currently sit 10th in League One.
