Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves hopes he will be fit to play in England's World Cup qualifiers in September against Andorra and Croatia.
Suffering from tendinitis, Hargreaves may make his return as early as Friday when Manchester United play in the Uefa Super Cup against Zenit St Petersburg.
"Maybe I will be fit for England, but Manchester United come first," he said.
"Monaco is a possibility," added Hargreaves, referring to the venue for Friday's meeting with Russia's Zenit.
Hargreaves has not played since England's friendly international against the USA in May, a week after United's Champions League final victory over Chelsea.
"I think there is Hargreaves"
The 27-year-old midfielder took a course of injections rather than joining Sir Alex Ferguson's side on their pre-season tour to South Africa.
"I have felt it the tendinitis for the past 16 months, but hopefully I will be back playing in a week or two."
"Physically I demand a lot of myself. I wish it wasn't the case but I just have to cope with it.
"Obviously I am trying to get better - I do a bit more every day.
"Last season I was fit towards the end. That is the reason the boss brought me here.
"Obviously there is a big season ahead for Manchester United and England and I want to be fit and available."
England begin their 2010 qualifying campaign against the Andorrans on 6 September before facing Croatia in Zagreb four days later.
Hargreaves is very much in the mind of England coach Fabio Capello following his side's disappointing 2-2 draw with Czech Republic in midweek.
"I think there is Hargreaves," said Capello, looking ahead to the challenge posed by Croatia. "I've said before, we suffered on the counter-attack when other teams play a 9-1 formation. If you score a goal it changes completely.
"I noted a lot of things against Czech Republic, the good things and the bad things. It is important for me because the four games we played before, the level of teams were not like this."
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