Following his serious shoulder injury, striker Jovan Kostovski is targeting a return date of early December.

Seven weeks have passed since Jovan Kostovski injured his shoulder. The initial diagnosis of 3-4 months has proven to be right. Kostovski told Belgian newspaper “Het Nieuwsblad” that he expects to return in early December, or about 3-and-a-half months since the injury took place in late August.

Kostovski noted, “I hope to return at the beginning of December. Given the circumstances, I feel fine. I have been having less pain in my shoulder and last week I started running sessions. The rehabilitation schedule is going according to plan, but I am under no illusions. It will still take until early December before I can fully rejoin the team. Until then, I should avoid all contact. The most dangerous thing at this time is to rush it. I’m ready for my return mentally, but the body says something else. And that will still take some time.”

Jovan also told the newspaper that he is still mad at Seth De Witte, the player from Mechelen that caused his injury. De Witte has not apologized and Kostovski is upset since he was in the best form of his life at that time. He was the leading scorer in the Belgian league back then.

The prognosis of early December also ends any chance of Kostovski being available to the national team next month. There was some hope that he may heal quicker than expected, but that is not the case.