The striker has been absent since March when he suffered an ankle ligament injury against Wales while on international duty with Scotland.

Fletcher had been enjoying a fine debut season until the setback, scoring 11 goals in the Premier League.

Di Canio is optimistic the 26-year-old will soon return to first-team action but insisted he will not rush him back into the side and risk further damage.

"His improvement has surprised everybody – we are happy, but more importantly he is happy and excited," Di Canio told the club's official website.

"We don’t have to (take a) risk. It would be silly to anticipate a time. We won’t force it just because we see improvement, because another injury now could put him out for longer; it would be stupid.

"In a few weeks, maybe we can see Fletcher in action. We will keep our fingers crossed. He and the staff have done a very good job; we have handled the situation very well.

"We expect to see him in the next few weeks. I can’t say two, three or four – we will see."