Cape Town - Free State Stars could be boosted by the return of captain Paulus Masehe from injury for their Premiership clash against Kaizer Chiefs in early February.
The 33-year-old sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon in their Telkom Knockout victory against Chiefs in November and subsequently missed eight fixtures in all competitions for El La Koto.
The veteran midfielder's presence has been missed by the Bethlehem based-outfit and, of the five league games Masehe missed, Free State Stars only managed to pick maximum points on two occasions, losing the other three games.
Serame Letsoaka's side languish two points from bottom-placed Baroka and the imminent return of the former Orlando Pirates midfielder will be a huge boost to the side's relegation battle.
"He's [Masehe] back at training but he still has three weeks to go," Letsoaka told KickOff.
"We are working on his upper body and gym training only for him.
"But of course it is a setback but we have a proper replacement in the team in that position he's playing.
"I'm sure you are well aware that in the last five games, three games were won and Masehe was not part of all the games were played, so the team was able to play so we have a replacement in that position."