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Robin van Persie could make his Manchester United return against Chelsea this weekend, Louis van Gaal has revealed.
The Dutch striker suffered an ankle injury during the 2-1 defeat to Swansea City on February 21, and has not featured since.
During that time, Manchester United have won six games on the bounce with Wayne Rooney leading the line.
Van Persie declared himself fit ahead of last weekend's Manchester derby only to be overruled by his manager, but Van Gaal confirmed on Friday that the former Arsenal striker could return against Chelsea this weekend.
Van Persie scored a stoppage time equaliser when the two sides met at Old Trafford back in October.
"This is the first week he has trained with us, with the first team, but maybe we have to think about him," he told MUTV.
Van Persie's potential inclusion provides little comfort for United, however, as Van Gaal faces a defensive crisis ahead of their visit to Stamford Bridge.
Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Daley Blind and Michael Carrick will all be missing, while Jonny Evans is still suspended.
Their absences leaves Van Gaal with limited options at the back, though England international Luke Shaw has sufficiently recovered to support Chris Smalling, Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett in United's backline should he be selected by Van Gaal.
"Shaw has trained for a lot of weeks already so he can play," Van Gaal confirmed.
